新 GRE 阅读逻辑 10 套

（GRE-RC-Logic-HP-10）
 目 录
新 GRE 阅读逻辑 10 套 ......................................................................................................................................................... 1
提示 .................................................................................................................................................................................. 2
练习 1 ............................................................................................................................................................................... 1
练习 2 ............................................................................................................................................................................... 8
练习 3 ............................................................................................................................................................................. 15
练习 4 ............................................................................................................................................................................. 22
练习 5 ............................................................................................................................................................................. 30
练习 6 ............................................................................................................................................................................. 37
练习 7 ............................................................................................................................................................................. 44
练习 8 ............................................................................................................................................................................. 51
练习 9 ............................................................................................................................................................................. 59
练习 10........................................................................................................................................................................... 67
答案 ................................................................................................................................................................................ 76
提示

1. 按目前能够看到的电子材料，新 GRE 考试(Computer-based)每个 Verbal Section 都会出现 1 道逻辑单题，两

个 section 共有 2 道题，内容主要是非学术类的社会生活话题。逻辑单题的文章长度通常在 40-80 字，题
目的五个选项也许比原文更长。这些题目恢复了多年以前古老的 GRE 的逻辑题。在 GMAT 与 LSAT 考试
中，这类题目一直存在，市场上有成熟的应对策略。
2. 我们编选了 95-99 年老 GRE 的逻辑单题作为新 GRE 逻辑单题的训练材料。本材料共汇集 10 个练习，每个
练习 11-15 道题不等。完成时间每道题最好控制在 1-1.5 分钟。建议第一遍时一定卡时间练习。所有 10 个
练习共计 132 道逻辑单题，数量已经足够；反复训练这些题目，应对新 GRE 逻辑单题应该没有困难。
3. 建议进行循环训练：每个练习的题目做 3-4 遍归纳总结以后，再做新的练习。
4. 练习 9 和练习 10 的内容可不做。我们会在完整的新 GRE 阅读训练套题中运用其中的题目，预先不做练习 9
与 10，可避免模拟训练失去真实感。
5. 欢迎同学和朋友们以各种方式对本材料提出改善的建议。
练习 1

1. Patel: Although enrollment in the region's high 2. Peter: More than ever before in Risland, college
school has been decreasing for several graduates with science degrees are accepting permanent
years, enrollment at the elementary school jobs in other fields. That just goes to show that scientists
has grown considerably. Therefore, the in Risland are not being paid enough.
regional school board proposes building a
new elementary school. Lila: No, it does not. These graduates are not
working in science for the simple reason that there are
Quintero: Another solution would be to convert some not enough jobs in science in Risland to employ all of
high school classrooms temporarily into these graduates.
classrooms for elementary school students.
Which of the following, if true in Risland, would most
Which of the following, if true, most helps to support
undermine the reasoning in Peter's argument?
Quintero's alternative proposal?
(A) The college graduates with science degrees who are
(A) Some rooms at the high school cannot be con-
not working in science are currently earning lower
verted into rooms suitable for the use of ele-
salaries than they would earn as scientists.
mentary school students.
(B) Fewer college students than ever before are
(B) The cost of building a high school is higher than
receiving degrees in science.
the cost of building an elementary school.
(C) The number of jobs in science has steadily risen in
(C) Although the birth rate has not increased, the
the last decade.
number of families sending their children to
(D) A significant number of college graduates with
the region's high school has increased markedly.
science degrees worked at low-paying jobs while they
(D) A high school atmosphere could jeopardize the
were in college.
safety and self-confidence of elementary school
(E) Every year some recent college graduates with
students.
science degrees accept permanent jobs in nonscientific
(E) Even before the region's high school population
fields.
began to decrease, several high school class-
rooms rarely needed to be used.

1
3.Counselor: Every year a popular newsmagazine pub-
lishes a list of United States colleges, ranking
them according to an overall numerical score
that is a composite of ratings according to sev-
eral criteria. However, the overall scores gen-
erally should not be used by students as the
basis for deciding to which colleges to apply.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to justify
the counselor's recommendation?
(A) The vast majority of people who purchase the
magazine in which the list appears are not
college-bound students.
(B) Colleges that are ranked highest in the magazine's
list use this fact in advertisements aimed at
attracting students.
(C) The rankings seldom change from one year to
the next.
(D) The significance that particular criteria have for
any two students is likely to differ according to
the students' differing needs.
(E) Some college students who are pleased with their
schools considered the magazine's rankings
before deciding which college to attend.
2
4. A thorough search of Edgar Allan Poe's correspon-
dence has turned up not a single letter in which he
mentions his reputed morphine addiction. On the basis
of this evidence it is safe to say that Poe's reputation
for having been a morphine addict is undeserved and
that reports of his supposed addiction are untrue.
Which of the following is assumed by the argument
above?
(A) Reports claiming that Poe was addicted to mor-
phine did not begin to circulate until after his
death.
(B) None of the reports of Poe's supposed morphine
addiction can be traced to individuals who actu-
ally knew Poe.
(C) Poe's income from writing would not have been
sufficient to support a morphine addiction.
(D) Poe would have been unable to carry on an
extensive correspondence while under the
influence of morphine.
(E) Fear of the consequences would not have pre-
vented Poe from indicating in his correspon-
dence that he was addicted to morphine.
5. Adelle: The government's program to reduce the
unemployment rate in the province of Carthena by
encouraging job creation has failed, since the rate there
has not changed appreciably since the program began a
year ago.
Fran: But the unemployment rate in Carthena had
been rising for three years before the program began, so
the program is helping.
3
Which of the following, if true, most strongly counters
Fran's objection to Adelle's argument?
(A) The government is advised by expert economists,
some of whom specialize in employment issues.
(B) The unemployment rate in the province of Carthena
has historically been higher than that of the country as a
whole.
(C) The current government was elected by a wide
margin, because of its promises to reduce the
unemployment rate in Carthena.
(D) Around the time the government program began,
large numbers of unemployed Carthena residents began
leaving the province to look for work elsewhere.
(E) The unemployment rate in Carthena had been
relatively stable until shortly before the current
government took office.
6. Soft Drink Manufacturer：Our new children's soft
drink, RipeCal, is fortified with calcium.
Since calcium is essential for developing
healthy bones, drinking RipeCal regularly
will help make children healthy.
Consumer Advocate：But RipeCal also contains large
amounts of sugar, and regularly consuming
large amounts of sugar is unhealthful, especially
for children.
In responding to the soft drink manufacturer, the
consumer advocate does which of the following？
(A)Challenges the manufacturer's claim about the
nutritional value of calcium in children's diets
(B)Argues that the evidence cited by the manufac-
turer, when properly considered, leads to a
conclusion opposite to that reached by the
manufacturer.
(C)Implies that the manufacturer of a product is
typically unconcerned with the nutritional value
of that product.
(D)Questions whether a substance that is healthful
when eaten in moderation can be unhealthful
when eaten in excessive amounts.
(E)Presents additional facts that call into question
the conclusion drawn by the manufacturer.
4
7.Over a period of several months, researchers attached
small lights to the backs of wetas—flightless insects
native to New Zealand—enabling researchers for the
first time to make comprehensive observations of the
insects' nighttime activities.Thus, since wetas forage
only at night, the researchers' observations will
significantly improve knowledge of the normal
foraging habits of wetas.
Which of the following is an assumption on which
the argument depends？
(A) Researchers were interested only in observing
the wetas' foraging habits and so did not keep
track of other types of behavior.
(B) No pattern of behavior that is exhibited by wetas
during the nighttime is also exhibited by wetas
during the daytime.
(C)Attaching the small lights to the wetas' backs
did not greatly alter the wetas' normal night-
time foraging habits.
(D)Wetas typically forage more frequently during
the months in which the researchers studied
them than they do at other times.
(E)The researchers did not use other observational
techniques to supplement their method of using
small lights to track the nighttime behavior of
wetas.
8.People whose bodies cannot produce the substance
cytochrome P450 are three times as likely to develop
Parkinson's disease, a disease that affects the brain,
as are people whose bodies do produce this substance.
Since cytochrome P450 protects the brain from toxic
chemicals, toxic chemicals probably play a role in the
development of Parkinson's disease.
Which of the following, if true, most strongly
supports the argument？
(A)It will soon be possible for cytochrome P450 to
be synthesized for the treatment of people
whose bodies cannot produce this substance.
(B)Many people whose bodies are unable to
produce cytochrome P450 lack the ability to
produce certain other substances as well.
(C)Cytochrome P450 has no effect on the brain
other than to protect it from toxic chemicals.
(D)People with Parkinson's disease often exhibit a
marked lessening in the severity of their symp-
toms when they are treated with dopamine, a
chemical produced naturally in the brain.
(E)Many people with Parkinson's disease have the
ability to produce cytochrome P450 naturally.
5
9.The early universe contained only the lightest
elements, hydrogen and helium. Heavier elements,
such as carbon, form only in nuclear reactions in
stars and are dispersed when the stars explode. A
recently discovered gas cloud contained carbon
several billion years ago, when the universe was
no more than two billion years old.
If the statements above are true, which of the
following must, on the basis of them, also be true？
(A)The earliest stars contained only hydrogen.
(B)Some stars were formed before the universe was
two billion years old.
(C)The carbon in the gas cloud later formed part of
some stars.
(D)No stars identified to date are as old as the gas
cloud.
(E)The gas cloud also contained hydrogen and
helium.
10.Sleep deprivation is a known cause of workplace
error, and many physicians frequently go without
sleep for periods of 24 hours or more. However, few
of these physicians have, in the course of a routine
examination by a peer, been diagnosed with sleep
deprivation.So there is little cause for concern that
habitual sleep deprivation will cause widespread
physician error.
The answer to which of the following questions
would be most helpful in evaluating the argument？
(A)Do physicians who have been diagnosed with
sleep disorders also show signs of other ills not
related to sleep deprivation？
(B)Is the ability to recognize the symptoms of sleep
deprivation in others significantly impaired by
habitual sleep deprivation？
(C)Do factors other than habitual sleep deprivation
ever lead to errors in the workplace on the part
of physicians？
(D)Of people who have recently been treated by
physicians, what percentage believe that many
physicians have occasionally suffered from sleep
deprivation？
(E)Is the incidence of sleep deprivation higher
among physicians than it is among other health
care workers？
6
11.A list of the fifteen operas most frequently performed
in recent times includes no works by the nineteenth-
century German composer Richard Wagner. Although
music producers tend to produce what audiences want,
relative infrequency of performance probably does
not indicate lack of popularity in Wagner's case, since
Wagner's operas are notoriously expensive to perform
on stage.
Which of the following, if true, most strongly
supports the conclusion of the argument above？
(A)The list of most frequently performed operas
does not include operas produced by small
amateur groups.
(B)Some opera companies are backed by patrons
who are willing to commit large sums of
money in order to enjoy lavish productions.
(C)All of the fifteen most frequently performed
operas of recent times are works that have
been popular for at least 75 years.
(D)More recordings have been produced recently of
the works of Wagner than of the works of any
other composer of opera.
(E)Operatic works of all kinds have been increasing
in popularity in recent years.
12.The bodies of dwarf individuals of mammalian
species are generally smaller in relation to those of
nondwarf individuals than are the teeth of the dwarf
individuals in relation to those of the nondwarf indi-
viduals. Fragmentary skeletal remains of an adult
dwarf woolly mammoth were recently found. The teeth
are three-fourths the size of the teeth of an average
adult nondwarf woolly mammoth.
The statements above, if true, most strongly support
which of the following？
(A)The body of the dwarf woolly mammoth was
less than three-fourths the size of the body of
an average adult nondwarf woolly mammoth.
(B)None of the teeth of the dwarf woolly mammoth
that were recently discovered was as large as
any of the teeth of nondwarf woolly mammoths
that have been discovered.
(C)The teeth of most adult dwarf individuals of
mammalian species are three- fourths the size of
the teeth of the adult nondwarf individuals of
the same species.
(D)Dwarf woolly mammoths had the same number
of teeth as did nondwarf woolly mammoths.
(E)Dwarf individuals of most mammalian species
are generally no more than three-fourths the
size of the adult nondwarf individuals of those
species.
7
13.Excluding purchases by businesses, the average
amount spent on a factory-new car has risen 30 per-
cent in the last five years. In the average household
budget, the proportion spent on car purchases has
remained unchanged in that period. Therefore the
average household budget must have increased by
30 percent over the last five years.
Which of the following is an assumption on which
the argument relies？
(A)The average number of factory-new cars pur-
chased per household has remained unchanged
over the last five years.
(B)The average amount spent per car by businesses
buying factory-new cars has risen 30 percent in
the last five years.
(C)The proportion of the average household budget
spent on all car-related expenses has remained
unchanged over the last five years.
(D)The proportion of the average household budget
spent on food and housing has remained
unchanged over the last five years.
(E)The total amount spent nationwide on factory-
new cars has increased by 30 percent over the
last five years.
练习 2
1. Armtech, a temporary-employment agency, previously
gave its employees 2.5 paid vacation days after each
700 hours worked. Armtech's new policy is to give
its employees 5.0 paid vacation days after each 1,200
hours worked. Therefore, this new policy is more
generous to Armtech employees in giving them more
vacation days per hour worked than the old policy did.
Which of the following is an assumption on which
the argument depends？
(A) Most current Armtech employees approve of the
company's new vacation policy.
(B) A few Armtech employees leave the company
before having worked 700 hours.
(C) Most Armtech employees were not aware that
the company planned to change its vacation
policy until after it had already done so.
(D) A significant portion of Armtech employees stay
with the company long enough to work for
1,200 hours.
(E) Armtech's new vacation policy closely matches
the vacation policies of competing temporary
employment agencies.
8
2 The global population of frogs has declined in recent
years while the amount of ultraviolet radiation reaching
the Earth has increased. Since the genetic material in
frog eggs is harmed when exposed to ultraviolet radi-
ation, and since the eggs themselves are not protected
by shells or leathery coverings but are gelatinous, the
frog population decline is probably due, at least in
part, to the ultraviolet radiation increase.
Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest
support for the argument？
(A) Even in those regions where there has been no
significant increase in ultraviolet radiation, only
a small proportion of the frog eggs that are laid
ever hatch.
(B) In areas where there has been the least decline
in frog populations, populations of species of
insects that frogs eat have decreased.
(C) The eggs of frog species whose populations are
declining tend to have higher concentrations of
damaging pesticides than do the eggs of frog
species whose populations have not declined.
(D) In many places where turtles, which lay eggs
with tough, leathery coverings, share habitats
with frogs, turtle populations are also in decline.
(E) Populations of frog species that hide their eggs
beneath rocks or under sand have declined
considerably less than have populations of frog
species that do not cover their eggs.
3 To improve productivity, manufacturing companies
have recently begun restructuring work to produce
more goods with fewer assembly-line workers, and
the companies have laid off many workers as a
consequence. The workers laid off have been those
with the least seniority(time on the job), generally
the younger workers.
The statements above, if true, most strongly support
which of the following as a conclusion？
(A) The products manufactured by the companies are
not undergoing design changes while the
manufacturing jobs are being restructured.
(B) When assembly-line workers have made sug-
gestions for improvements in manufacturing
processes, some suggestions have been
implemented, but many have not.
(C) Assembly-line workers now need increased
reading and mathematical skills to do their
jobs.
(D) Some of the innovations in assembly-line
processes and procedures that were made to
increase productivity have instead proved to be
counterproductive.
(E) The manufacturing companies are increasing the
average age of their assembly-line workforce
while still seeking to increase production.
9
4.During the nineteenth century, Britain's urban popu-
lation increased as its rural population diminished. A
historian theorizes that, rather than industrialization's
being the cause, this change resulted from a series
of migrations to urban areas, each occasioned by a
depression in the agrarian economy. To test this hypoth-
esis, the historian will compare economic data with
population census data.
The historian's hypothesis would be most strongly
supported if which of the following were found to be
true？
(A) The periods of greatest growth in the industrial
economy were associated with a relatively
rapid decline in the rural population.
(B) The periods of greatest weakness in the agrarian
economy were associated with relatively slow
growth in the population as a whole.
(C) Periods when the agrarian economy was compar-
atively strong and the industrial economy com-
paratively weak were associated with a particu-
larly rapid decline in the rural population.
(D) Periods when the agrarian and industrial econo-
mies were both strong were associated with
particularly rapid growth in the urban popula-
tion.
(E) The periods of greatest strength in the agrarian
economy were associated with relatively slow
growth in the urban population.
5 Politician：Each year, small businesses create more
jobs than do large established businesses. Therefore, in
order to reduce unemployment in the long term, we
should provide incentives for starting small businesses
rather than for expanding established large businesses.
Which of the following, if true, casts the most doubt
on the politician's argument？
(A) In general, people employed by small businesses
report higher job satisfaction than do people
employed by large businesses.
(B) Among the currently unemployed are many
people with sufficient job skills to perform the
jobs that small businesses would create.
(C) Providing an effective incentive for starting a
business generally costs significantly less than
providing an effective incentive for expanding
a large business.
(D) A high proportion of small businesses fail within
three years of starting because of their owners'
inexperience.
(E) The average large business contributes more
money to politicians’ campaign funds than the
average small business does.
10
6 In the workplace, influenza is typically spread by
infected individuals to others with whom they work
in close quarters. A new medication that suppresses
the symptoms of influenza therefore will actually
increase the number of influenza cases, because this
medication will allow people who would otherwise be
home in bed to return to work while infected.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously chal-
lenges the prediction？
(A) Coughing, a symptom of influenza that the new
medication suppresses, is a primary mechanism
in the spread of this illness.
(B) Some medications that are used to suppress
symptoms of influenza are also used by many
people to treat symptoms that are caused not
by influenza but by other illnesses.
(C) Many workers who now remain at home when
infected with influenza do so because the
symptoms of influenza prevent them from per-
forming their jobs effectively.
(D) Most adults who are immunized against influ-
enza in order to avoid being infected are over
65 years old and retired and thus do not work
outside the home.
(E) Symptoms of an illness are often the body's
means of curing itself of the illness, and there-
fore suppression of symptoms can prolong the
illness that causes them.
7 Editorial：
Critics of nuclear power complain about the allegedly
serious harm that might result from continued operation
of existing nuclear power plants. But such concerns do
not justify closing these plants；after all, their operation
has caused no more harm than that caused by pollution
generated by coal-and oil-burning power plants, the
most important other sources of energy.
11
Which of the following is an assumption on which the
argument depends？
(A) Existing nuclear power plants should be closed only
if it can be conclusively demonstrated that their
continued operation is likely to cause harm more
serious than the harm their operation has already
caused.
(B) Closing existing nuclear power plants would require
greatly increased reliance on coal-and oil-burning
power plants.
(C) The harm that has resulted from operation of
existing coal-and oil-burning power plants has
been significant.
(D) The harm that a nuclear power plant is likely to
cause as it continues to operate can be reliably
predicted from the past history of nuclear power
plants.
(E) The only harm that has resulted from operation of
existing coal-and oil-burning power plants has
resulted from the pollution generated by these
plants.
8 Drug manufacturer: Although our company requires
that patients who use our new drug also pur-
chase from us nonreusable kits for weekly
blood testing, the expense of those kits is an
entirely necessary one: weekly blood testing
must be done to monitor the drug's potential
side effects, which can be very dangerous.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weak-
ens the manufacturer's argument?
(A) The expense of purchasing the blood-test kits
has not prevented any patients from obtaining
them or the drug.
(B) Medical laboratories can perform the blood test-
ing at a lower cost to patients or their insurers
than the price the manufacturer charges for the
kits.
(C) A one-year supply of the drug and the weekly
blood-test kits can cost patients or their
insurers over $10,000.
(D) Most government and other health insurance
programs will not reimburse patients for the
full cost of both the drug and the blood-test
kits.
(E) Patients who suffer one or more of the danger-
ous side effects of the drug can incur heavy
expenses for the treatment of those side effects.
12
9 Virginia and her brother William disagree over when
their father was born: Virginia claims it was in 1935
and William claims it was in 1933. The hospital
where their father was born has no records for 1933
but has complete records for 1935—records that do
not include a birth record for their father. Therefore,
he must have been born in 1933.
The argument depends on which of the following
assumptions?
(A) Either Virginia's claim or William's claim is
correct.
(B) The records of the hospital where their father
was born date back to 1933.
(C) Virginia and William know the day and the
month of their father's birth.
(D) There are urgent practical reasons why Virginia
and William must know the date of their
father's birth.
(E) None of their other relatives knows the year in
which Virginia and William's father was born.
10 The town of San Leonardo has recently enacted a law
banning smoking in all restaurants within town limits.
Since many smokers who normally dine in San
Leonardo's restaurants will not want to refrain from
smoking during their meals, San Leonardo's restau-
rants will undoubtedly lose many patrons and con-
siderable income.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to
strengthen the argument above?
(A) Most residents of San Leonardo who eat in res-
taurants are not smokers.
(B) Most smokers who dine in the company of non-
smokers are willing to refrain from smoking
during their meals.
(C) If the law banning smoking in restaurants had
not been enacted, it is likely that a more
stringent law banning smoking in all public
places in San Leonardo would have been
enacted instead.
(D) Prior to the enactment of the law banning
smoking in San Leonardo's restaurant, the
town had a law that required most restaurants
to have nonsmoking sections.
(E) None of the other communities adjacent to San
Leonardo, which have restaurants comparable
to those of San Leonardo, has enacted and
enforces any antismoking legislation.
13
11. Children whose biological parents both have Tic
Syndrome Z (TSZ), which is characterized by the
involuntary contraction of certain muscles, are about
four times more likely to develop such contractions
than are children whose biological parents do not
have TSZ, It is likely, therefore, that predisposition
to TSZ is an inherited trait.
Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen
the conclusion above?
(A) Children whose parents have TSZ are more
likely to develop TSZ if they are under unusual
stress at school or at home than if they are not
under such stress.
(B) Children whose biological parents do not have
TSZ are more likely to develop TSZ if they are
raised by adoptive parents with TSZ than if
they are raised by their biological parents.
(C) Children whose biological parents have TSZ are
as likely to develop TSZ if they are raised by
adoptive parents who do not have TSZ as if
they are raised by their biological parents.
(D) Children whose biological parents have TSZ and
who develop TSZ usually avoid developing a
severe form of the syndrome if they seek
treatment for TSZ shortly after developing the
first signs of it.
(E) Children with TSZ whose biological parents do
not have TSZ are less likely to have the syn-
drome diagnosed when symptoms first appear
than are children with TSZ whose biological
parents have TSZ.
12. Playing eighteenth-century music on the instruments
of that period provides valuable information about how
the music originally sounded. Eighteenth-century
instruments cannot be played without being restored,
however, and restoring such an instrument destroys all of
the information that researchers could obtain from it
about eighteenth-century instrument-making techniques.
14
If the statements above are true, which of the
following must be true on the basis of them?
(A) Eighteenth-century instruments cannot be used to
provide information about the original techniques used
in playing such instruments if they have been restored.
(B) Eighteenth-century instruments that have been
restored can provide information only about how
eighteenth-century music originally sounded
(C) Eighteenth-century instruments are the only
source of information about the instrument-making
techniques of that period.
(D) An eighteenth-century instrument that has not
been restored can provide more information than can
one that has been restored.
(E) An eighteenth-century instrument cannot serve as
a source of new information about eighteenth-century
instrument-making techniques once it can be played
练习 3
1.A new and more aggressive form of the fungus that
caused the Irish potato famine of the nineteenth century
has recently arisen. However, since this new form of the
fungus can be killed by increased application of
currently used fungicides, it is unlikely that the fungus
will cause widespread food shortages in countries that
currently rely on potatoes for sustenance.
Which of the following, if true, most calls into question
the conclusion in the argument above?
(A) Though potatoes are an important staple crop in
many parts of the world, people in most countries rely
primarily on wheat or rice for sustenance.
(B) Potato farmers in many countries to which the new
form of the fungus has spread cannot afford to increase
their spending on fungicides.
(C) The new form of the fungus first began to spread
when contaminated potato seeds were inadvertently
exported from a major potato-exporting country.
(D) Potato farmers in most countries use several
insecticides on their crops in addition to fungicides of
the sort that kill the new form of the fungus.
(E) Most governments have funds set aside that can be
used to alleviate the effects of large-scale disasters such
as severe food shortages and floods.
15
2.As government agencies, faced with budget difficul-
ties, reduce their funding for scientific research, a
greater amount of such research is being funded by
private foundations. This shift means that research
projects likely to produce controversial results will
almost certainly comprise a smaller proportion of all
funded research projects, since private foundations,
concerned about their public image, tend to avoid
controversy.
Which of the following is an assumption on which
the argument depends?
(A) Only research that is conducted without concern
for the possibility of generating controversy is
likely to produce scientifically valid results.
(B) Private foundations that fund scientific research
projects usually recognize that controversial
results from those projects cannot always be
avoided.
(C) Scientists who conduct research projects funded
by private foundations are unlikely to allow the
concerns of the funding organizations to influ-
ence the manner in which they conduct the
research.
(D) Many government agencies are more concerned
about their public image than are most private
foundations.
(E) Government agencies are more willing than are
private foundations to fund research projects
that are likely to produce controversial results.
3.Juries in criminal trials do not base verdicts on uncor-
roborated testimony given by any one witness. Rightly
so, because it is usually prudent to be highly skeptical
of unsubstantiated claims made by any one person.
But then, to be consistent, juries should end an all-
too-common practice: convicting defendants on the
basis of an uncorroborated full confession.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the
argument above?
(A) Juries often acquit in cases in which a defendant
retracts a full confession made before trial.
(B) The process of jury selection is designed to screen
out people who have a firm opinion about the
defendant's guilt in advance of the trial.
(C) Defendants sometimes make full confessions when
they did in fact do what they are accused of
doing and have come to believe that the prose-
cutor has compelling proof of this.
(D) Highly suggestible people who are accused of
wrongdoing sometimes become so unsure of
their own recollection of the past that they can
come to accept the accusations made against
them.
(E) Many people believe that juries should not con-
vict defendants who have not made a full con-
fession.
16
4.Although spinach is rich in calcium, it also contains
large amounts of oxalic acid, a substance that greatly
impedes calcium absorption by the body. Therefore,
other calcium-containing foods must be eaten either
instead of or in addition to spinach if a person is to
be sure of getting enough calcium.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously
weakens the argu-ment above?
(A)Rice, which does not contain calcium,
counteracts the effects of oxalic acid on
calcium absorption.
(B) Dairy products, which contain even more
calcium than spinach does, are often eaten by
people who eat spinach on a regularbasis.
(C) Neither the calcium nor the oxalic acid in
spinach is destroyed when spinach is cooked.
(D) Many leafy green vegetables other than spinach
that are rich in calcium also contain high
concentrations of oxalic acid.
(E) Oxalic acid has little effect on the body's ability to
absorb nutrients other than calcium.
5.Joyce: Three years ago the traffic commission
modified our town's busiest intersection for
better visibility, a commendable effort to cut
down on traffic accidents there.
Gary: Over the past three years there have been
more, not fewer, traffic accidents per week at
that intersection, so the modification has
increased the likelihood of accidents there
The answer to which of the following questions
would be most useful in evaluating Gary's argument?
(A) What proportion of the town's drivers involved
in accidents that occurred prior to the
modification suffered personal injury in their
accidents?
(B) How long, on average, had the members of the
traffic commission held their offices when the
modification was implemented?
(C) Do a majority of the town's residents approve of
the traffic commission's overall performance?
(D) What measures have nearby towns taken within
the last three years in order to improve visibil-
ity at dangerous intersections?
(E) How has the volume of traffic at the town's
busiest intersection changed over the last three
years?
17
6. Women make up the majority of the population in the
country, and many of the prescriptions written by
doctors for tranquilizers are for women patients. The
testing of these drugs for efficacy and the calibration
of recommended doses, however, was done only on
men. Not even the animals used to test toxicity were
female.
The statements above, if true, best support which of
the following as a conclusion?
(A) Some tranquilizers are more appropriately pre-
scribed for women than for men.
(B) There have been no reports of negative side
effects from prescribed tranquilizers in women
(C) Tranquilizers are prescribed for patients in some
instances when doctors do not feel confident of
their diagnoses.
(D) The toxicity of drugs to women is less than the
toxicity of the same drugs to men.
(E) Whether the recommended dosages of tranquil-
izers are optimal for women is not known.
7. Gray wolves have been absent from a large national
park for decades. Park officials wish to reestablish
the wolves without jeopardizing any existing species
of wildlife there. Since the park contains adequate
prey for the wolves and since the wolves avoid close
contact with people, reintroducing them would serve
the officials' purpose without seriously jeopardizing
visitors' safety.
Each of the following, if true, strengthens the
argument above EXCEPT:
(A) The park is so large that wolves will not need to
venture into areas frequented by people.
(B) Rabies is very rare in wolves, and there have
been no verified cases of serious human injuries
from nonrabid wild wolves since records have
been kept.
(C) Ranchers in the region near the park have
expressed concern that gray wolves, if reintro-
duced, would sometimes prey on their livestock.
(D) Predation by gray wolves on elk in the park is
likely to improve the health and viability of the
park's elk population as a whole by reducing
malnutrition among the elk.
(E) Wolves do not prey on animals of any endangered
species that currently inhabit the park.
18
8. Osteoporosis is a disease that reduces bone mass, lead-
ing to fragile bones that break easily. Current treat-
ments for osteoporosis such as estrogen or calcitonin
help prevent further loss of bone but do not increase
bone mass. Since fluoride is known to increase bone
mass, administering fluoride to osteoporosis patients
would therefore help make their bones less susceptible
to breaking.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously
weakens the argument above?
(A) Most people who suffer from osteoporosis are
not aware that administration of fluoride can
increase bone mass.
(B) Fluoride is added to drinking water in many
locations in order to strengthen the teeth of
people who drink the water.
(C) The risk of contracting osteoporosis and other
degenerative bone diseases is lessened by exer-
cise and an adequate intake of calcium.
(D) Unlike administration of fluoride, administration
of estrogen or calcitonin is known to cause
undesirable side effects for many people.
(E) The new bone mass that is added by the admin-
istration of fluoride is more brittle and less
elastic than normal bone tissue.
9. The closest distance from which an asteroid has been
photographed using ground-based radar is 2.2 million
miles, the distance from which the asteroid Toutatis
was recently photographed. The closest photograph of
an asteroid is of Gaspra, which was photographed
from a distance of only 10,000 miles.
19
Which of the following can be properly concluded
from the statements above?
(A) Toutatis is more likely to collide with the Earth
than Gaspra is.
(B) Toutatis, unlike Gaspra, has only recently been
discovered.
(C) Asteroids can be photographed only by using
ground-based radar.
(D) Ground-based radar photography cannot take
photographs of objects much beyond 2.2 million
miles from Earth.
(E) The photograph of Gaspra was not taken using
ground-based radar.
10. Which of the following most logically completes the
argument below?
Alone among living species, human beings
experience adolescence, a period of accelerated physical
growth prior to full maturity. Whether other hominid
species, which are now all extinct and are known only
through the fossil record, went through adolescence
cannot be known, since
(A) the minimum acceleration in physical growth
that would indicate adolescence might differ
according to species
(B) the fossil record, though steadily expanding, will
always remain incomplete
(C) detecting the adolescent growth spurt requires
measurements on the same individual at differ-
ent ages
(D) complete skeletons of extinct hominids are
extremely rare
(E) human beings might be the first species to bene-
fit from the survival advantages, if any, con-
ferred by adolescence
20
11. Fossils of the coral Acrocora palmata that date from
the last period when glaciers grew and consequently
spread from the polar regions are found at ocean
depths far greater than those at which A. palmata can
now survive. Therefore, although the fossilized
A. palmata appears indistinguishable from A. palmata
now living, it must have differed in important respects
to have been able to live in deep water.
The argument depends on the assumption that
(A) no fossils of the coral A. palmata have been
found that date from periods when glaciers
were not spreading from the polar regions
(B) geological disturbances since the last period
during which glaciers spread have caused no
major downward shift in the location of
A. palmata fossils
(C) A. palmata now live in shallow waters in most
of the same geographical regions as those in
which deep-lying A. palmata fossils have been
found
(D) A. palmata fossils have been found that date
from each of the periods during which glaciers
are known to have spread from the polar region
(E) A. palmata can live at greater depths where the
ocean temperature is colder than they can
where the ocean temperature is warmer
12.Conservationists have believed that by concentrating
their preservation efforts on habitats rich in an easily
surveyed group of species, such as birds, they would
thereby be preserving areas rich in overall species
diversity. This belief rests on a view that a geographical
area rich in one group of species will also be rich in the
other groups characteristic of the entire regional climate
zone.
21
Which of the following findings about widely scattered
tracts 10 kilometers by 10 kilometers in a temperate
climate zone would most seriously challenge the
conservationists' assumptions?
(A) The tracts show little damage from human intrusion
and from pollution by human activities.
(B) Where a certain group of species, such as birds, is
abundant, there is also an abundance of the species, such
as insects, on which that group of species feeds, or in
the case of plants, of the land and water resources it
requires.
(C) The area of one of the tracts is generally large
enough to contain a representative sample of the
organisms in the region.
(D) There is little overlap between the list of tracts that
are rich in species of butterflies and the list of those that
are rich in species of birds.
(E) The highest concentration of individuals of rare
species is found where the general diversity of species is
greatest.
练习 4
1. Drug companies lose money when manufacturing
drugs that cure those suffering from rare diseases
because selling a drug to only a few people usually
does not recoup manufacturing expenses．Therefore,
a company manufacturing any of the drugs that cure
those suffering from loxemia, an extremely rare
disease, will undoubtedly lose money．
Which of the following, if true, most seriously
weakens the conclusion above？
(A)Several drugs that cure those suffering from
loxemia also cure those suffering from very
common illnesses．
(B)Most of those who contract loxemia also con-
tract another illness concurrently．
(C)Most of the drug companies that manufacture
drugs that cure rare diseases do not manufac-
ture drugs that cure loxemia．
(D)A sizable number of people are afflicted with
one or another rare disease even though each
rare disease afflicts only a small number of
people．
(E)The larger the amount of a drug that is manu-
factured, the lower the manufacturing expense
for each unit of the drug that is produced．
22
2.The tomb of a warrior killed in 1501 bears a sculpted
portrait depicting him dressed for battle．Some his-
torians attribute the portrait to an artist from that
century, but of the many references to the tomb in
surviving documents, none that predates the 1800's
mentions the portrait．The portrait is therefore more
likely the work of a much later artist．
Which of the following, if true, would also support
the conclusion of the argument if substituted for the
evidence given concerning the portrait？
(A)The portrait of the warrior was commissioned by
the family of the warrior's widow．
(B)References in surviving documents mention that
an artist was paid in 1525 for an unspecified
number of works for the church in which the
tomb is located
(C)The warrior is depicted in the portrait as wearing
boots made of a material not used for boots
until the 1700's．
(D)Some other art treasures from the church in
which the tomb is located have been reliable
dated to the 1400's．
(E)The portrait of the warrior on the tomb strongly
resembles a portrait of him known to have
been completed during his lifetime．
3.Scientist：More than 1, 000 large asteroids regularly
cross the Earth's path．Even though the probabil-
ity of one colliding with the Earth is extremely
slight, we should do whatever we can to reduce
that probability since any such collision would
be catastrophic．The best way to avoid such a
disaster is to deflect the asteroids．The only
known way of deflecting asteroids is by hitting
them with nuclear weapons that would be stored
in space stations．
The scientist’s claims are structured so as to lead to
which of the following conclusions？
(A)Nuclear technology is the only technology that
can plausibly be used to prevent natural
catastrophes．
(B)Nuclear weapons should be deployed in space．
(C)No catastrophe has yet been caused by the
collision of an asteroid with the Earth．
(D)The 1, 000 large asteroids that cross the Earth's
path pose only an extremely slight risk of
colliding with the Earth．
(E)There is currently no acceptable use to which
nuclear weapons can be put, aside from pro-
tecting the Earth from asteroids．
23
4.It has long been thought that high levels of the hor-
mone testosterone contribute to the onset of heart
disease in men．However, this view cannot be correct,
since men who have heart disease typically show
significantly lower levels of testosterone than do men
who have not had heart disease．
The argument above assumes which of the following？
(A)Many men who have never had heart disease
have unusually low levels of testosterone．
(B)Having heart disease does not significantly lower
the level of testosterone in men．
(C)Levels of hormones other than testosterone
significantly affect the likelihood that a man
will develop heart disease．
(D)Heart disease and lowered testosterone levels in
men are the effects of a single common cause．
(E)High levels of testosterone have never been
thought to contribute to a serious disease other
than heart disease．
5.People who engage in scuba diving are healthier, on
average, than people who do not engage in this
activity．Therefore, scuba diving tends to promote
improved health．
24
The argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the
grounds that it
(A)presupposes that everyone who takes up scuba
diving does so solely for health reasons
(B)leads to a further and falsifiable conclusion that
no one can achieve good health without
engaging in scuba diving
(C)fails to point out that a small number of people
are seriously injured in scuba diving accidents
each year
(D)treats a precondition for improving one's health
as though it were something that by itself
could ensure good health
(E)overlooks the possibility that people generally do
not take up scuba diving unless they are in
good health
6.Which of the following most logically completes the
argument below？
In recent years, the proportion of car buyers who buy
new cars rather than used cars has declined．Some
consumers have attributed this change to an increase
in new-car prices．As evidence of the price increase,
they cite figures that show that, even adjusting for
inflation, the price that the buyer of a new car pays,
on average, is far higher now than a few years ago．
This evidence is unpersuasive, however, because
(A)the value of a car that is bought new declines
much more rapidly than does the value of a
car that is bought used
(B)after someone has bought a car, it might be
several years before that person next buys
a car
(C)a decline in the proportion of car buyers who
buy new cars must necessarily mean that the
proportion who buy used cars has increased
(D)the relative increase in used-car sales might be
explained by the decisions of only a small
proportion of all car buyers
(E)the change in the average price paid for a new
car could result solely from more people's
rejecting inexpensive new cars in favor of used
cars
25
7.In Bassaria a group of that country's most senior
judges has criticized the uniform mandatory sentences
recently introduced for certain specific crimes．The
judges argue that such sentences, by depriving them
of all discretion in setting sentences, make it impos-
sible for them to consider either aggravating or exten-
uating circumstances and so make it impossible to
achieve true justice―the fitting of the severity of the
punishment to the gravity of the particular crime．
Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest
evidence for the claim that in Bassaria the newly
introduced mandatory sentences are not necessarily a
change for the worse with respect to achieving true
justice as defined in the argument？
(A)Before mandatory sentencing, judges in eastern
Bassaria imposed strikingly different sentences
from those in western Bassaria for equally
grave instances of the same kind of offense．
(B)In Bassaria the frequency of crimes that have
been made subject to mandatory sentences is
lower now than it was just prior to the intro-
duction of mandatory sentencing．
(C)The law introducing mandatory sentences was
passed in the legislature of Bassaria by a large
majority and is unlikely to be repealed in the
foreseeable future．
(D)There used to be a wide difference between the
minimum and the maximum sentences allowed
by law in cases of crimes now subject to man-
datory sentences．
(E)In Bassaria judges are appointed for life and are
thus not easily influenced by political pressure
groups．
8.Each of two particular inspection systems that are based
on different principles would detect all product flaws but
would also erroneously reject three percent of flawless
products．Assuming there is no overlap between the
products erroneously rejected by the two systems and
also no interference between the systems if both operate,
using both systems and rejecting only those products
found flawed by both would be a way of avoiding all
erroneous rejections．
26
Which of the following most precisely characterizes the
reasoning in the argument？
(A)The reasoning is conclusive, that is, the conclusion
cannot be false if the statements offered in its
support are true．
(B)The reasoning is strong but not conclusive, if the
statements offered in support of the conclusion are
true, they provide good grounds for that conclu-
sion, though it is possible that additional infor-
mation might weaken the argument．
(C)The reasoning is weak; the statements offered in
support of the conclusion, though relevant to it,
by themselves provide at best inadequate grounds for
the conclusion．
(D)The reasoning is flawed in that the conclusion is no
more than a paraphrase of one of the pieces of
evidence offered in its support．
(E)The reasoning is flawed in that the argument treats
evidence that a factor is necessary to bring about
an event as if it were evidence that the factor is
sufficient to bring about that event．
9. In recent years, there has been a dramatic decline in
the population of the shrike, a predatory bird that
inhabits flat land, such as farms and pastures. Some
ornithologists hypothesize that this decline is due to
the introduction of new, more effective pesticides to
control the insect species on which shrikes prey.
The answer to which of the following questions is
NOT relevant to evaluating the ornithologists'
hypothesis?
(A) Was there a decline in the shrike population
before the new pesticides were first used?
(B) Have shrike populations declined significantly
in those habitats where the new pesticides have
not been used?
(C) Have the new pesticides more significantly
reduced the population of insect species on
which shrikes prey than did the pesticides
previously
used?
(D) Are insects that have consumed the new pesti-
cides more toxic to the shrikes that eat those
insects than were insects that consumed the
less effective pesticides?
(E) Are the new pesticides considered by most
people to be less harmful to the environment
than the old pesticides were considered to be?
27
10. Census data for Prenland show that unmarried
Prenlandic men in their thirties outnumber unmarried
Prenlandic women in that age group by about ten to
One. Most of these men do wish to marry. Clearly,
however, unless many of them marry women who
are not Prenlandic, all but a minority will remain
unmarried.
The argument makes which of the following assump-
tions?
(A) Emigration from Preland is more common
among women than among men.
(B) A greater proportion of Prelandic women
in their thirties than of Prenlandic men of the
same age would prefer to remain unmarried.
(C) It is unlikely that many of these unmarried
Prenlandic men will marry women more than
a few years older than themselves.
(D) Prenland has a high rate of divorce.
(E) Most of the unmarried Prenlandic men are
unwilling to marry women who are not
Prenlandic.
11.Certain extremely harmful bacteria found only in
sewage are difficult to detect directly. Testing for
E. coli, an easily detected and less harmful type of
bacteria, in ocean water would be a reliable way of
determining whether or not these more harmful bac-
teria are present, since ocean water contains E. Coli
only if the water is contaminated with sewage that
contains the harmful bacteria.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously
weakens the argument?
(A) There are many different strains of the E. coli
bacteria, and only some of these strains are
harmful.
(B) Some types of bacteria found in sewage are
neither disease-causing nor difficult to detect
directly.
(C) Some of the types of bacteria found in sewage
along with E. coli are not harmful to people
unless the bacteria are ingested in large
quantities.
(D) E. coli dies out much more quickly than some of
the more harmful bacteria found in sewage and
then can no longer be easily detected.
(E) Some of the types of bacteria found in sewage
along with E. coli reproduce at a slower rate
than E. coli.
28
12.The organizers of tomorrow's outdoor concert
announced that it will go on tomorrow on schedule
unless bad weather is forecast or too few advance
tickets are sold. If the concert is canceled, refunds
will be made to ticket holders. Since some ticket
holders have already been issued refunds even though
more than enough advance tickets were sold, it must
be the case that bad weather is forecast.
Which of the following is an error of reasoning con-
tained in the argument?
(A) It proceeds as if a condition, which by itself is
enough to guarantee a certain result, is the only
condition under which that result would occur.
(B) It bases a conclusion that is known to require
two conditions on evidence that bears on only
one of those conditions.
(C) It explains one event as being caused by another
event, even though both events must actually
have been caused by some third, unidentified
event.
(D) It treats evidence for the absence of one condi-
tion under which a circumstance would occur
as conclusive evidence that that circumstance
will not occur.
(E) Evidence given to support the conclusion actually
undermines it.
13. Although the prevailing supposition has been that it
is too hot for microorganisms to survive deep below the
Earth's surface, some scientists argue that there are
living communities of microorganisms there that have
been cut off from surface life for millions of years.
These scientists base their argument on the discovery
of living microorganisms in samples of material that
were taken from holes drilled as deep as 1.74 miles.
The scientists' argument depends on which of the fol-
lowing assumptions?
(A)The microorganisms brought up were of a
species that is related to those previously
known to science.
(B)No holes have been drilled into the Earth's
surface to a distance deeper than 1.74 miles
(C)The microorganisms did not come from surface
soil that came into contact with the drilling
equipment.
(D) The stratum from which the samples came has
been below the surface of the Earth ever since
the Earth came into existence.
(E) The temperature at the bottom of the holes drilled
was not significantly hotter than that of the
hottest spots on the Earth's surface.
29
14. For 20 years all applicants for jobs as technicians at
EquipCorp were required to demonstrate that they could
operate and repair the machinery that was central to
EquipCorp's manufacturing business. Now, however,
that particular machinery is obsolete, and very different
machinery fills the central role. Therefore, the old
requirement is no longer a useful method for evaluating
whether applicants for jobs as technicians at EquipCorp
have the skills necessary for the job.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the
argument?
(A) The machinery that is now obsolete was used by a
large number of manufacturing companies before
it became obsolete.
(B) Among the people already holding jobs as tech-
nicians at Equip Corp, those who are most skillful
at operating the new machinery had been some of
the least skillful at operating the old machinery
(C) Most people applying for jobs as technicians today
have much broader skills than did people applying
for jobs as technicians 20 years ago.
(D) The skills required to operate and repair the
obsolete machinery are useful in operating and
maintaining many other types of machinery at
EquipCorp that are not obsolete.
(E) Much of the machinery that EquipCorp now uses in
manufacturing is very likely to become obsolete
within the next 20 years.
练习 5
1. The university's constitution defines the powers of
two governing bodies．The general council, which
currently retains authority over constitutional matters,
consists of all the university's living alumni．The
twenty-member senate decides routine matters by
majority vote．A new proposal suggests making a
unanimous vote in the senate sufficient to change the
constitution．
If the statements above are true, which of the fol-
lowing must follow on the basis of them？
(A) The proposal will take effect only if it receives
the senate's unanimous support．
(B) Currently each member of the senate has power
of veto over any proposal that comes before
that body．
(C) Adopting the proposal would allow passage of
constitutional changes without the general
council's approval．
(D) Any of the university's alumni can fill any one
of the twenty seats on the senate．
(E) Adopting the new proposal would increase the
voice of the alumni in the conduct of
university affairs．
30
2.Comparison of the growth rings of ancient trees
enables scientists to determine from a piece of tim-
ber the year in which the tree used for the tim-
ber was felled．Hence, by analyzing the growth rings
in timber surviving from ancient buildings, archaeolo-
gists can determine precisely when those buildings
were constructed．
Which of the following is an assumption on which
the argument depends？
(A) The timber used for construction purposes in
ancient times was made from very old trees．
(B) The timber that was used in ancient building
construction had not, prior to being used in the
construction of the buildings, lain unused for
an indeterminable amount of time．
(C) The growth rings of any tree felled in a given
year are identical to the growth rings of any
other tree felled in that year．
(D) The oldest of the ancient buildings that survive
to the present day were constructed of the most
durable woods．
(E) Ancient builders did not use more than one type
of wood for the construction of a given
building．
3.Color-tinting of movies originally photographed in
black-and-white is inappropriate．Hundreds of the
original artistic choices would have been made
differently had these movies been filmed in color．
Lighting on the sets of these movies was arranged
to make highlights and shadows look right in
black-and-white．
Which of the following claims, if substituted for the
claim about the lighting of movie sets, would lend
the same type of support to the argument above？
(A) An important part of what gives these movies
their identity is the result of the black-and-
white format．
(B) Color film would have better captured the film-
makers' intentions．
(C) Color film is superior to black-and-white film
for making movies．
(D) Makeup for the actors was applied so as to look
best in black-and-white films．
(E) The choice of black-and-white film over color
film is entirely a matter of taste．
31
4.In Borkland, university scholarship stipends worth
＄4.2 million were unclaimed last year because several
scholarship programs attracted no applicants who met
the programs' qualifying criteria．This is an egregious
waste of funds in a country where thousands of
promising students each year cannot afford
tuition．Qualifying criteria for those scholarships,
therefore, should be revised．
Which of the following, if true about Borkland, most
strongly supports the conclusion drawn above？
(A) Many scholarships are unclaimed not because
their qualifying criteria are too restrictive but
because the scholarship programs rarely
announce the scholarships' availability．
(B) Because of inflation, the stipends offered by
certain scholarship programs now appear less
attractive to potential applicants than they did
when they were first offered．
(C) A significant number of scholarship programs
awarded all of their available scholarship
stipends last year, yet most of those programs
have very restrictive qualifying criteria．
(D) Certain scholarship programs accept applications
only from students enrolled in specific major
fields of study, but Borkland's universities no
longer offer courses in the fields specified by
many of those programs．
(E) Several scholarship programs have found it
impossible to revise their qualifying criteria
without engaging in lengthy and costly legal
proceedings．
5.In Diersville the new Environmental Action party
won two seats on the seven-member town council in
1988．It lost both of those seats in the 1992 election,
even though the party's pro-environment platform had
essentially remained unchanged．This decline in the
party's fortunes clearly demonstrates that in Diersville
environmental concerns faded in significance between
1988 and 1992．
32
Which of the following, if true, most seriously
weakens
the argument？
(A) Between 1988 and 1992, the number of eligible
voters in Diersville rose, but not the percentage
who actually voted．
(B) Between 1988 and 1992, Diersville's leading
political party revised its platform, adopting
a strongly environmentalist stance．
(C) The parties that ran candidates in the 1992 elec-
tion in Diersville were the same as those that
had done so in the 1988 election．
(D) In 1992 the Environmental Action party won
fewer votes in Diersville than it had won in
1988．
(E) Between 1988 and 1992, some measures intended
to benefit the environment had been adopted
by the town council, but with inconclusive
results．
6.The United States is not usually thought of as a
nation of parakeet lovers．Yet in a census of parakeet
owners in selected comparable countries, the United
States ranked second, with eleven parakeet owners
per hundred people．The conclusion can be drawn
from this that people in the United States are more
likely to own parakeets than are people in most other
countries．
Knowledge of which of the following would be most
useful in judging the accuracy of the conclusion？
(A) The number of parakeets in the United States．
(B) The number of parakeet owners in the United
States．
(C) The number of parakeet owners per hundred
people in the country that ranked first in the
census．
(D) The number of parakeet owners in the United
States compared to the numbers of owners of
other pet birds in the United States．
(E) The numbers of parakeet owners per hundred
people in the countries not included in the
census．
33
7. Until 1984 only aspirin and acetaminophen shared
the lucrative nonprescription pain-reliever market．
In 1984, however, ibuprofen was expected to account
for fifteen percent of all nonprescription pain-reliever
sales．On that basis business experts predicted for
1984 a corresponding fifteen percent decrease in the
combined sales of aspirin and acetaminophen．
The prediction mentioned in the last sentence above
was based on which of the following assumptions？
(A) Most consumers would prefer ibuprofen to both
aspirin and acetaminophen．
(B) Aspirin, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen all relieve
headache pain and muscular aches, but aspirin
and ibuprofen can also cause stomach irritation．
(C) Before 1984 ibuprofen was available only as a
prescription medicine．
(D) The companies that manufacture and sell aspirin
and acetaminophen would not also manufacture
and sell ibuprofen．
(E) The introduction of ibuprofen would not increase
total sales of nonprescription pain reliever．
8. New regulations in Mullentown require manufac-
turers there to develop five-year pollution-reduction
plans. The regulations require that each manufacturer
develop a detailed plan for reducing its released pol-
lutants by at least 50 percent. Clearly, the regulations
will not result in significant pollution reduction, how-
ever, since the regulations do not force manufacturers
to implement their plans.
Which of the following, if true, most weakens the
argument?
(A) Mullentown's manufacturing plants are not the
only source of pollution there.
(B) Detailed plans would reveal that measures to
reduce released pollutants would also reduce
manufacturers' costs for materials, waste
disposal, and legal services
(C) Pollutants that manufacturing processes create
but that are not released directly into the
environment must nonetheless be collected
and prepared for disposal
(D) Any reductions in pollutants released from
Mullentown's manufacturing plants would
not be noticeable for at least five years.
(E) Each manufacturer will be required to submit its
plan to a committee appointed by Mullentown's
officials.
34
9. To produce seeds, plants must first produce flowers.
Two kinds of tarragon plants, Russian tarragon
and French tarragon, look very similar except that
Russian tarragon produces flowers and French tar-
ragon does not. The leaves of Russian tarragon,
however, lack the distinctive flavor that makes
French tarragon a desirable culinary herb
If the information presented is true, which of the fol-
lowing can most reliably be concluded on the basis
of it?
(A) As a decorative plant, French tarragon is more
desirable than Russian tarragon.
(B) The flowers of Russian tarragon plants are prob-
ably not flavorful.
(C) Plants that grow from seeds sold in a packet
labeled "tarragon" are not French tarragon.
(D) There are no other kinds of tarragon besides
Russian tarragon and French tarragon
(E) Garden plants that have flavorful leaves generally
do not produce flowers.
10. In the United States, the financing of industrial
research by private industrial firms remained steady
as a percentage of sales during the period between
1968 and 1978 (after correcting for inflation). But
slowdowns in the growth of industrial productivity
also occurred during that period, a fact that refutes
the notion that the growth of industrial productivity
is directly proportional to the amount invested in
industrial research.
Which of the following, if true for the United States,
most weakens the argument above?
(A) Federal funds, which constituted a significant
portion of the support for industrial research
from 1968 to 1978, fell annually and substan-
tially during that period.
(B) The inflation that occurred between 1968 and
1978 was more severe than leading economists
had expected.
(C) Industrial executives generally favor investing an
appreciably larger portion of corporate funds in
short-term product development than in basic
research.
(D) The scientists and engineers who worked in
industry from 1968 to 1978 were, as a group,
more experienced in their jobs than were those
who worked in industry during the previous
ten-year period.
(E) Corporate financing of industrial research
increased in several of the years immediately
following 1978 (after correcting for inflation)
35
11. Although many brands of gasoline are sold on
Haibei Island, gasoline companies there get all of the
refined gasoline they sell from Haibei seaport's only
storage tank, which is always refilled with the same
quality of gasoline. Therefore, the brands of gasoline of
sale on Haibei may be different in name and price, but
they are identical in quality.
The conclusion drawn above depends on which of the
following assumptions?
(A) Consumers are usually unaware of variations
in the quality of the gasoline they buy unless
those variations are announced by the gasoline
companies.
(B) When tankers make gasoline deliveries at
Haibei's seaport, the storage tank on Haibei
always receives the same quantity of gasoline
as that in the preceding delivery.
(C) There is a wide variation in the prices at which
the different brands of gasoline on Haibei are
sold.
(D) If any gasoline company on Haibei alters the
quality of its gasoline before sale, the other
gasoline companies also use methods before
sale that result in the same change in the
quality of their gasoline .
(E) The gasoline storage tank on Haibei is large
enough to meet the needs of all of Haibei's
different gasoline companies.
12.A group of paintings made approximately 15,000
years ago in a cave in the Loire River valley in what is
now France depicts a number of different animals. One
of the animals depicted seems to resemble the chiru, a
rare antelope of the Himalayas.
36
Which of the following, if true, best supports the
hypothesis that in painting the animal that resembles a
chiru the cave artist painted a chiru with which she or he
was familiar?
(A) There are numerous representations of imaginary
animals in cave paintings of similar age.
(B) Fossilized remains of a chiru, approximately
16,000 years old, have been found at the northern
end of the valley.
(C) The cave that contains the depiction of an animal
that resembles a chiru contains stylized repre-
sentations of plant life.
(D) Older caves from the same region contain no
representations of animals that resemble a chiru.
(E) The antlers of the animal in the painting are longer
than those of the mature Himalayan chiru.
练习 6
1.The ancient Greek playwright Euripides followed the
established conventions of verse composition less rig-
orously at the end of his career than at the beginning.
Since the lines from a recently discovered Euripidean
play adhere to those conventions as rigorously as do
lines from Euripides' early plays, the recently discov-
ered play must have been composed early in Euripides’
career.
Which of the following is an assumption made in the
argument?
(A) All of Euripides' plays were written in verse.
(B) Euripides did not write any plays late in his
career in which he imitated the style of his
early plays.
(C) Euripides grew increasingly unaware of the
established conventions of verse composition
as his career progressed.
(D) Late in his career, Euripides was the only
playwright of his day who consciously broke
with the established conventions of verse
composition.
(E) Ancient playwrights tended to be less willing to
violate certain conventions early in their
careers than they were late
37
2.In the United States, average fuel efficiency of
newly manufactured domestic cars, although
remaining worse than that of newly manufactured
imported cars, substantially improved between 1983
and 1988. Average fuel efficiency of new domestic
cars has not improved since, but the difference in
average fuel efficiencies of new domestic cars and
new imported cars has steadily decreased.
If the statements above are true, which of the
following must also be true on the basis of them?
(A) Average fuel efficiency of domestic cars manu-
factured after 1988 was better than that of
imported cars manufactured before 1988.
(B) Average fuel efficiency of newly manufactured
domestic cars has steadily worsened since 1988.
(C) Average fuel efficiency of newly manufactured
imported cars has steadily worsened since 1988.
(D) Average fuel efficiency of newly manufactured
imported cars has steadily improved since 1983.
(E) Average fuel efficiency of imported cars manu-
factured in 1983 was better than that of
imported cars manufactured in 1988.
3. Between 1970 and 1980, energy consumption by
United States industry peaked and then declined, so
that by 1980 total industrial use of energy was below
the 1970 level even though total industrial output
had grown substantially in the same period. Industry
must have instituted highly effective energy conser-
vation measures in those years to have achieved such
impressive results.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weak-
ens the conclusion of the argument?
(A) Many industries switched to the greatest extent
possible from high-priced oil to lower-priced
alternatives throughout the 1970's.
(B) Total residential energy consumption was higher
in the United States in 1980 than it had been
in 1970
(C) Many industrial users of energy had paid little
attention to energy conservation prior to 1970.
(D) Industrial output grew less rapidly from 1970 to
1980 than it had from 1960 to 1970.
(E) The industries whose production dropped sharply
during the 1970's included a disproportionately
large number of energy-intensive industries.
38
4.Many people acquire software programs for their
home computers by illegally copying those programs
rather than purchasing them. People who own home
computers must be making, on average, fewer illegal
copies of software programs than before, however,
since the average number of software programs that
people purchase to use on their home computers has
increased substantially over the past five years.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the
argument?
(A) The number of home computers in use has
increased substantially over the past five years.
(B) Five years ago, about half of the software pro-
grams used on home computers had been
illegally copied rather than purchased.
(C) Most people who have home computers use
their computers more frequently the longer
they have them.
(D) Few people who prefer to copy computer
software programs illegally cannot copy the
software programs they want because they
have no acquaintances who have those
software programs.
(E) On average, people with home computers have
the same number of software programs today as
people with home computers did five years ago.
5.From a newspaper editorial：
Many people who are addicted to heroin will even-
tually attempt to overcome their addiction, prin-
cipally for two reasons：the expense of maintaining
a heroin addiction and the fear of arrest. If heroin
were legalized and made available cheaply, as some
people advocate, neither of these reasons would
apply
The considerations above can best serve as part of an
argument that
(A) legalizing the sale of heroin would cause the
price of this drug to go down
(B) making it easier for heroin addicts to obtain
treatment for their addiction would encourage
many heroin addicts to attempt to overcome
their addiction
(C) legalizing the sale of heroin would increase the
number of crimes committed by heroin addicts
to support their addiction
(D) making heroin available legally and cheaply
would make it less likely that heroin addicts
will attempt to overcome their addiction
(E) decreasing the severity of penalties for individuals
who use heroin would not increase the number
of new heroin addicts
39
6.Stem borers are insect pests that often ruin North
American corn crops. On some other continents, crop
damage by stem borers is controlled by a certain
species of wasp. Since these wasps eat nothing but
stem borers, importing them into North America will
keep crop damage from stem borers under control
without endangering other North American insect
species.
Which of the following is an assumption on which the
argument depends?
(A) Corn is the principal food of stem borers that
live on continents other than North America.
(B) The wasps are capable of surviving in North
America long enough to eat significant
numbers of stem borers.
(C) No wasp in North America is closely related to
the species of wasp that eats stem borers.
(D) On continent other than North America, the
wasps control stem borers more effectively
than does any other pest control measure.
(E) Corn crops on continents other than North
America are not damaged by any insect pests
other than stem borers.
7.In the country of Laurelia, legal restrictions on the sale
of lock-picking equipment were relaxed ten years ago,
and since then Laurelia's burglary rate has risen
dramatically. Hence, since legally purchased
lock-picking equipment was used in most burglaries,
reintroducing strict limits on the sale of this equipment
would help to reduce Laurelia's burglary rate.
40
Which of the following, if true, gives the strongest
support to the argument?
(A) Laurelia's overall crime rate has risen
dramatically over the last ten years.
(B) There is wide popular support in Laurelia for the
reintroduction of strict limits on the sale of lock-
picking equipment.
(C) The reintroduction of strict limits on the sale of
lock-picking equipment in Laurelia would not
prevent legitimate use of this equipment by
police and other public safety officials.
(D) Most lock-picking equipment used in Laurelia is
fragile and usually breaks irreparably within a
few years of purchase.
(E) The introduction five years ago of harsher punish-
ments for people convicted of burglary had little
effect on Laurelia's burglary rate.
8.Salesperson：The picture tube is the central com-
ponent of any television, and Picturesque tele-
visions use the same high-quality picture tubes
as those used in TruVue televisions. Since you
pay a much lower price for a Picturesque, you
pay a lower price for a television with the same
picture quality when you buy a Picturesque
instead of a TruVue.
41
Which of the following is an assumption that, if
justified, would allow the conclusion of the sales-
person's argument to be properly drawn?
(A) TruVue televisions are much more widely
advertised than are Picturesque televisions.
(B) The picture quality of a television is determined
solely by the quality of its picture tube.
(C) A salesperson earns much less on the sale of
each Picturesque television than on the sale of
each TruVue television.
(D) Many more Picturesque televisions are sold
each year than TruVue television.
(E) Picturesque televisions are assembled in the
same factory that assembles TruVue tele-
visions.
9.In a recent film set in seventeenth-century Europe, the
hero is seen doing the crawl, a swimming stroke not
known in Europe before the 1920's.However, since
moviegoers obviously are not experts in the history of
swimming strokes, for most of the film's audiences
this
blunder clearly cannot have interfered with whatever
sense of historical authenticity the film otherwise
achieved.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously
weakens the argument given?
(A) The film was widely praised for being historically
plausible, even though it portrayed many events
that were not historically attested.
(B) The scene that shows the film's hero doing the
crawl is a rescue scene pivotal to the film's
action,
and parts of it are even shown a second time, in a
flashback.
(C) Makers of historical films, even of those set as
recently as the nineteenth century, routinely strike
compromises between historical authenticity and
the need to keep their material accessible to a
modern audience, as in the actors' speech
patterns.
(D) The crawl that European swimmers used in the
1920's was much less efficient and more
awkward-looking than the crawl that is currently
taught.
(E) A slightly earlier film featuring an eighteenth
century sea battle in Europe was ridiculed in
numerous popular reviews for the historical lapse
of showing a sailor doing the crawl in swimming
to safety.
42
10.The government of Pontran claims that Tor City, one
of the six major cities in that country, is alone among
Pontran's cities in having sustained strong job growth
this year. Clearly, however, any job growth this year.
Clearly, however, any job growth there must be purely
imaginary; in fact, in Tor City and only there, more
people are unemployed this year than were last year.
The argument countering the government's claim
depends on the assumption that：
(A) unemployed workers in Pontran did not, in
significant numbers, move to Tor City when the
government claimed Tor City had strong job
growth
(B) the unemployment rate in Tor City is higher year
than in any previous year
(C) actions taken by the government of Pontran
significantly affect the unemployment rate in Tor
City
(D) the unemployment rate in Tor City, though
increased, is still the lowest of any city in Pontran
(E) there is no significant seasonal variation in the
unemployment rate for Pontran as a whole
11.As people age, the number of calories they need each
day decreases while their daily requirement of vitamin
B6 increases. Clearly, unless older people take B 6
supplements or eat a diet that contains more B 6 than did
the diet they ate when they were young adults, there is
little likelihood that they will get B 6 in needed amounts.
43
Which of the following would be most helpful to
know to evaluate the argument?
(A) Whether the relative decrease in the daily
requirement of calories is greater than the relative
increase in the daily requirement of vitamin B 6.
(B) Whether the form of vitamin B6 found in dietary
supplements is more readily absorbed and utilized by
the body than is the form of this vitamin that
is found in food.
(C) Whether the consequences of not getting vitamin
B6 in required daily amounts are more serious for
older people than for young adults.
(D) Whether the diets of most people, when they are
young adults, include vitamin B6 in amounts far
in excess of their daily needs.
(E) Whether the diets of older people are more likely
than those of young adults to include one or more
meals a day that are devoid of foods containing
vitamin B6.
练习 7

1. The Environmental Protection Agency must 2. Aedes albopictus, a variety of mosquito that has
respond to the hazard to children's health recently established itself in the southeastern
posed by exposure to asbestos fibers released United States, is less widespread than the
in the air in school classrooms. Since it is indigenous swamp mosquito. Both the swamp
impossible to close school buildings, the best plan mosquito and A. albopictus can carry viruses that
would be to initiate programs that mandate the are sometimes fatal to humans, but A. albopictus
immediate removal of asbestos from all the is a greater danger to public health.
school buildings that are found to contain
Each of the following, if true, provides additional
asbestos, regardless of whether or not the
information that strengthens the judgment given
buildings are in use.
about the danger to public health EXCEPT:
Which of the following, if true, is the strongest
(A) Unlike the swamp mosquito, A. albopictus
reason for the Environmental Protection Agency
originated in Asia, and larvae of it were not
not to follow the plan outlined above?
observed in the United States before the mid-
(A) The techniques available for removing
1980's.
asbestos often increase the level of airborne
(B) Unlike the swamp mosquito, A. albopictus
asbestos.
tends to spend most of its adult life near
(B) Schools are places where asbestos is
human habitation.
especially likely to be released into the air by
(C) Unlike swamp mosquito larvae, A.
the action of the occupants.
albopictus larvae survive in flower pots, tin
(C) Children exposed to airborne asbestos run a
cans, and many small household objects that
greater risk of developing cancer than do
hold a little water.
adults exposed to airborne asbestos.
(D) In comparison with the swamp mosquito, A.
(D) The cost of removing asbestos varies from
albopictus hosts a much wider variety of
school to school, depending on accessibility
viruses known to cause serious diseases in
and the quantity of asbestos to be removed.
humans.
(E) It is impossible to determine with any degree
(E) A. albopictus seeks out a much wider range
of certainty if and when construction materials
of animal hosts than does the swamp mosq-
that contain asbestos will break down and
uito, and it is more likely to bite humans.
release asbestos fibers into the air.

44
3. A person's cholesterol level will decline 4. A certain type of dinnerware made in Ganandia
significantly if that person increases the contains lead. Lead can leach into acidic foods,
number of meals eaten per day, but only if and Ganandians tend to eat highly acidic foods.
there is no significant increase in the amount However, the extreme rarity of lead poisoning in
of food eaten. However, most people who Ganandia indicates that the dinnerware does not
increase the number of meals they eat each day contain dangerous amounts of lead.
will eat a lot more food as well.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously
weakens the argument above?
If the statements above are true, which of the
(A) The dinnerware is produced exclusively for
following is most strongly supported by them?
sale outside Ganandia.
(A) For most people, cholesterol level is not
(B) Ganandian foods typically are much more
significantly affected by the amount of food
acidic than foods anywhere else in the
eaten per day.
world.
(B) For most people, the amount of food eaten per
(C) The only source of lead poisoning in
meal is most strongly affected by the time of
Ganandia is lead that has leached into food.
day at which the meal is eaten.
(D) Most people who use the dinnerware are not
(C) For most people, increasing the number of
aware that it contains lead.
meals eaten per day will not result in a
(E) Acidic foods can leach lead from dinnerware
significantly lower cholesterol level.
even if that dinnerware has a protective
(D) For most people, the total amount of food
coating.
eaten per day is unaffected by the number of
meals eaten per day.
(E) For most people, increasing the number of
meals eaten per day will result in a significant
change in the types of food eaten.

45
5. Sergeant
Our police academy no longer requires its
applicants to pass a physical examination
before being admitted to the academy. As a
result, several candidates with weak hearts and
high blood pressure have been admitted. Hence,
we can expect our future police force to have
more health problems than our current police
force.
Knowledge of each of the following would be
relevant to determining the reliability of the
sergeant's prediction EXCEPT whether
(A) police officer candidates are screened for
high blood pressure before joining the police
force
(B) the police officer candidates who are not
healthy now are likely to be unhealthy as
police officers
(C) graduates of the police academy are required
to pass a physical examination
(D) the health of the current police officer
candidates is worse than was the health of
police officer candidates in the past
(E) a police officer's health is a reliable indicator
of the officer's performance
46
6. Because adult iguanas on Plazos Island are much
smaller than adult iguanas of the same species
on nearby islands, researchers assumed that
environmental conditions on Plazos favor the
survival of relatively smaller baby iguanas
(hatchlings) in each yearly brood. They
discovered instead that for each of the past three
years, 10 percent of the smaller and 40 percent
of the larger hatchlings survived, because larger
hatchlings successfully evade their predators.
Which of the following, if true about Plazos but
not about nearby islands, contributes most to an
explanation of the long-standing tendency of
iguanas on Plazos to be smaller than those of the
same age on nearby islands?
(A) Periodic wind shifts cause extended dry
spells on Plazos every year, putting the larger
iguanas, whose bodies require relatively
more water, at a great disadvantage.
(B) There are exactly three species of iguanas on
Plazos but only two species of seagulls that
feed on iguanas, and a relatively small
percentage of each year's hatchlings are
consumed by seagulls.
(C) Wild cats, which were introduced as pets by
early settlers and which were formerly major
predators of Plazos iguanas, were recently
killed off by a disease specific to cats.
(D) The iguanas on Plazos are a relatively
ancient part of the island's animal life.
(E) Both land and marine iguanas live on Plazos,
and the land iguanas tend to be larger than
marine iguanas of the same age.
7. Every human being who has ever lived had two
parents. Therefore, more people were alive three
thousand years ago than are alive now.
The reasoning in the argument is flawed because
it
(A) overlooks the number of people in each
generation during the last three thousand
years who left no descendants
(B) disregards possible effects of disasters such
as famines and plagues on human history
(C) overestimates the mathematical effect of
repeated doublings on population size
(D) fails to take into account that people now
alive have overlapping sets of ancestors
(E) fails to consider that accurate estimation of
the number of people alive three thousand
years ago might be impossible
47
8. Each of the academic journals Thought and Ergo
has a review committee to prevent misattributed
quotations from appearing in its published
articles. Nevertheless, about ten percent of the
quotations in Thought's published articles are
misattributed, whereas Ergo contains no
misattributions. Ergo's committee is more
effective, therefore, than Thought's at finding
misattributed quotations.
The argument above assumes that
(A) most of the articles submitted to Thought for
publication contain misattributed quotations
(B) there are at least some misattributed
quotations in articles submitted to Ergo for
publication
(C) the members of Ergo's committee are, on the
whole, more knowledgeable than are the
members of Thought's committee
(D) the number of misattributed quotations in a
journal is an accurate measure of how
carefully that journal is edited
(E) the authors who submit articles to Ergo for
publication are more thorough in attributing
quotations than are the authors who submit
articles to Thought
9. In the last few decades, grassy wetlands, essential 10. A researcher found that, in proportion to their
to the nesting and breeding of ducks, geese, body weights, children eat more carbohydrates
swans, and most other species of waterfowl, have than adults do. Children also exercise more than
been extensively drained and cultivated in adults do. The researcher hypothesized that
southern Canada and the northern United States, carbohydrate consumption varies in direct
Duck populations in North American have proportion to the calorie demands associated with
plummeted during this time, but populations of different levels of exercise.
swans and geese have been affected less
Which of the following, if true, most seriously
dramatically.
undermines the researcher's hypothesis?
(A) More carbohydrates are eaten per capita in
Which of the following, if true, most helps to
nations where the government spends more
explain the difference mentioned above?
per capita on public exercise programs.
(A) Prohibition of hunting of waterfowl is easier
(B) Children who do not participate in organized
to enforce in areas under cultivation than in
sports tend to eat fewer carbohydrates than
wild lands.
children who participate in organized sports.
(B) Most geese and swans nest and breed farther
(C) Consumption of increased amounts of
north than ducks do, in areas that still are not
carbohydrates is a popular tactic of runners
cultivated.
preparing for long-distance races.
(C) Land that has been harvested rarely provides
(D) Periods of physical growth require a
food suitable for waterfowl.
relatively higher level of carbohydrate
(D) Goose and swan populations decline in
consumption than otherwise.
periods of drought, when breeding sites are
(E) Though carbohydrates are necessary for the
fewer.
maintenance of good health, people who
(E) Because they are larger than ducks, geese and
consume more carbohydrates are not
swans have a harder time finding protected
necessarily healthier.
nesting sites in areas that are cultivated.

48
11. Experts removed a layer of eighteenth-century
red paint from a figure in a painting by a
sixteenth-century Italian artist, revealing a layer
of green paint underneath. Since the green paint
dates from the sixteenth century, the figure must
have been green, not red, when the painting was
completed in 1563.Which of the following, if
true, most seriously weakens the argument?
(A) The experts had been commissioned to
restore the painting to the colors it had when
it was completed.
(B) X-rays reveal an additional layer of paint
beneath the green paint on the figure.
(C) Chemical analyses were used to determine
the ages of the red paint and the green
paint.
(D) The red paint was added in the eighteenth
century in an attempt to repair damage done
in the late seventeenth century.
(E) Red paint on the robe of another figure in the
painting dates from the sixteenth century.
49
12. Although it is assumed that peacocks'
magnificent tails function essentially to attract
peahens, no one knows why it should be
magnificent tails that give a competitive
advantage in securing mates. One explanation is
that peahens are more likely to mate with
peacocks with magnificent tails than with
peacocks that lack magnificent tails.
Which of the following is an error of reasoning
exemplified by the explanation?
(A) Attributing to animals qualities that are
characteristically human
(B) Extending a conclusion that is true of only
one species of a genus to all species of the
genus
(C) Offering as an explanation a hypothesis that
in principle can be neither verified nor
proved false
(D) Offering the phenomenon that is to be
explained as the explanation of that
phenomenon
(E) Assuming without warrant that peacocks
with magnificent tails are likely to have
other features strongly attractive to peahens
13. Whenever a French novel is translated into
English, the edition sold in Britain should be in
British English. If the edition sold in Britain
were in American English, its idioms and
spellings would appear to British readers to be
strikingly American and thus to conflict with the
novel's setting.
50
The recommendation is based on which of the
following assumptions?
(A) The authors of French novels are usually
native speakers of French.
(B) A non-British reader of a novel written in
British English will inevitably fail to
understand the meanings of some of the
words and idioms in the novel.
(C) No French novel that is to be sold in Britain
in English translation is set in the United
States.
(D) A British reader of a British novel will
notice that the idioms and spellings used in
the novel are British.
(E) Most French novels are not translated into
both British English and American English.
练习 8
1. Auditor from Acme Industries: Last week at
Acme Bakery, about six percent of the pastries
baked during the night shift were found to be
imperfect, but no imperfect pastries were found
among those baked during the day shift. Pastries
are inspected during the same shift in which they
are baked, so clearly the night-shift quality control
inspectors were more alert, despite their nighttime
work hours, than the dayshift quality control
inspectors.
The argument depends on the assumption that
(A) at least some imperfect pastries were baked
during the day shift at Acme Bakery last
week
(B) not all of the pastries that the night-shift
quality control inspectors judged to be
imperfect were in fact imperfect
(C) the night-shift quality control inspectors
received more training in quality control
procedures than did the day-shift quality
control inspectors
(D) in a normal week, fewer than six percent of
the pastries baked during the night shift at
Acme Bakery are found to be imperfect
(E) there are only two shifts per day at Acme
Bakery, a day shift and a night shift
51
2. Spiders of many species change color to match
the pigmentation of the flowers they sit on. The
insects preyed on by those spiders, unlike human
beings, possess color discrimination so acute that
they can readily see the spiders despite the
seeming camouflage. Clearly, then, it must be in
evading their own predators that the spiders’
color changes are useful to them.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens
the argument?
(A) Among the animals that feed on color-
changing spiders are a few species of bat,
which find their prey through sound echoes.
(B) Certain animals that feed on color-changing
spiders do so only sparingly in order to keep
from ingesting harmful amounts of spider
venom.
(C) Color-changing spiders possess color
discrimination that is more acute than that of
spiders that lack the ability to change color.
(D) Color-changing spiders spin webs that are
readily seen by the predators of those spiders.
(E) The color discrimination of certain birds that
feed on color-changing spiders is no more
acute than that of human beings.
3. Which of the following most logically completes
the argument below?
Each year every employee of SAI Corporation
must enroll in one of the two health insurance
plans offered by SAI. One plan requires a
sizable monetary contribution from employees;
the other plan is paid for entirely by SAI. Many
SAI employees enroll in the plan requiring
employee contributions. This fact does not show
that they feel that this plan’s benefits are
superior to those provided by the plan requiring
no employee contribution since----.
(A) the plan that requires an employee contribution
costs and enrolled employee significantly less
per year than do typical health insurance
plans offered by corporations other than SAI
(B) only SAI employees who have worked for
SAI for at least fifteen years are eligible to
enroll in the plan paid for entirely by SAI
(C) the two health insurance plans currently
offered by SAI are substantially the same
plans SAI has offered for the past ten years
(D) most of the SAI employees enrolled in the
plan paid for entirely by SAI are under 50
years old
(E) both plans offered by SAI provide benefits
not only for employees of SAI but also for
children and spouses of enrolled employees
52
4. V-shaped walled structures in central Asia
were used by prehistoric hunters who drove
hoofed animals into an enclosure at the point
of the V. The central Asians who built these
structures probably learned this hunting
technique from invaders from southwest Asia,
because the arrival of invaders from a region
in southwest Asia where similar structures had
long been used coincides roughly with the
building of the earliest of such structures in
central Asia.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens
the argument?
(A) Excavations in the central Asian region do
not indicate whether invaders from
southwest Asia settled permanently in
central Asia.
(B) The V-shaped structures in central Asia
were roughly 70 meters long, whereas the
similar structures in southwest Asia were
usually over 300 meters long.
(C) The walls of the structures in central Asia
were made from earth, whereas the walls
of the structures in southwest Asia
were made of rock.
(D) The earliest examples of V-shaped walled
structures in central Asia were of an
advanced design.
(E) Some of the walled structures used for
hunting in southwest Asia were built well
after the earliest such structures were built
in central Asia.
5. Which of the following most logically
completes the argument?
Virtually all respondents to a recent voter
survey reported allegiance to one of the two
major political parties. But over a third of the
voters from each party reported being so
disenchanted with the governing philosophies
of both parties that they might join a third
major party if one were formed. Even if this
poll reflects general voter sentiment, however,
there is no chance that a new party could
attract a third of all voters, since----.
(A) the current level of disenchantment with the
governing philosophies of the two major
parties is unprecedented
(B) the disenchanted members of the two major
parties are attracted to very different
governing philosophies
(C) most respondents overestimated the proportion
of voters disenchanted with both parties, saving
that the proportion was more than 50 percent
(D) nearly half of all respondents reported that
they would be more likely to cease voting
altogether than to switch their party affiliation
(E) any new party would be likely to inspire
citizens who have not voted before to join
and to become regular voters
53
6. When amphibians first appeared on Earth millions
of years ago, the amount of ultraviolet radiation
penetrating Earth’s atmosphere was much greater
than it is today. Therefore, current dramatic
decreases in amphibian populations cannot be the
result of recent increases in ultraviolet radiation
penetrating Earth’s atmosphere.
Which of the following is an assumption on which
the argument depends?
(A) The eggs of modern amphibians are not
significantly more vulnerable to ultraviolet
radiation than the eggs of the first
amphibians were.
(B) Modern amphibians are not as likely as the
first amphibians were to live in habitats that
shield them from ultraviolet radiation.
(C) Populations of modern amphibians are not
able to adapt to changing levels of radiation
as readily as populations of early amphibians
were.
(D) The skin of amphibians is generally more
sensitive to ultraviolet radiation than the
skin of other animals is.
(E) The skin of amphibians is less sensitive to
ultraviolet radiation than to other types of
radiation.
7. Chris: Hundreds of traffic accidents annually are
attributable to the poor condition of our city’s
streets. The streets must therefore be repaired to
save lives.
Leslie: For less than the cost of those repairs, the city
could improve its mass transit system and thus
dramatically reduce traffic congestion, which
contributes significantly to those traffic accidents.
The city cannot afford to do both, so it should
improve mass transit, because reduced traffic
congestion has additional advantages.
Which of the following best describes the point
at issue between Chris and Leslie?
(A) Whether a certain problem in fact exists
(B) How a certain problem came into being
(C) Who is responsible for addressing a certain
problem
(D) Whether the city has sufficient financial
resources to address a certain problem
(E) How the city can best address a certain
problem
54
8. According to ancient records, the first tax that the
government of Selea imposed on a basic commodity
was a tax of two centima coins on every jar of cooking
oil sold in Selea. Tax records show that despite a stable
population and strict enforcement of tax laws, revenues
from the oil tax declined steeply over the first two years
that the tax was in effect.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to
explain the decline in Selean oil-tax revenues?
(A) During the decade following the
implementation of the tax, the average
household income in Selea rose steadily.
(B) Two years after implementing the tax on
cooking oil, the Selean government began
to implement taxes on numerous other
basic commodities.
(C) Jars of cooking oil were traditionally
bought as wedding gifts in Selea at the time
the tax went into effect, and gifts of
cooking oil increased after the
implementation of the tax.
(D) After the tax was imposed., Selean
merchants began selling cooking oil in
larger jars than before.
(E) Few Selean households began to produce
their own cooking oil after the tax was
imposed.
9. Housing construction materials give off distinctive 10. In December 1992 Tideville Shopping Mall repaired
sounds when exposed to high temperatures. Acoustic and improved the lighting in the mall’s parking lots,
sensors accurately detect such sounds and fire alarms and in 1993 car thefts and attempted car thefts from
incorporating acoustic sensors can provide an early those lots decreased by 76 percent from the previous
warning of house fires, allowing inhabitants to escape year. Since potential car thieves are generally
before being overcome by smoke. Since smoke deterred by good lighting, the decrease can be
inhalation is the most common cause of fatalities in attributed to these improvements.
house fires, mandating acoustic-sensor-based alarms
instead of smoke detectors will eliminate house fire as Which of the following, if true, most helps to
a major cause of death. strengthen the argument above?
(A) Both in 1992 and in 1993, most of the cars
Which of the following, if true, most weakens
stolen from the mall’s parking lots were
the argument given?
relatively new and expensive luxury
(A) The present high cost of acoustic-sensor-
models.
based alarm systems will decline if their
(B) Most of the cars that were stolen from the
use becomes widespread.
mall in 1992 were stolen between 11 A. M.
(B) When fully ignited, many materials used in
and 4 P.M.
housing construction give off sounds that are
(C) Tideville Shopping Mall is one of only
audible even from several hundred yards away.
three shopping malls in the Tideville area.
(C) Many fires begin in cushions or in
(D) In the town of Tideville, where the mall is
mattresses, producing large amounts of
located, the number of car thefts was about
smoke without giving off any sounds.
the same in 1993 as in 1992.
(D) Two or more acoustic-sensor-based alarms
(E) In 1993 the number of security officers
would be needed to provide adequate
patrolling the mall’s parking lots at night
protection in some larger houses.
was doubled.
(E) Smoke detectors have been responsible for
saving many lives since their use became
widespread.

55
11. Legislator: We should not waste any more of the
taxpayers’ money on the government’s job-creation
program. The unemployment rate in this country has
actually risen since the program was begun, so the
program has clearly been a failure.
Which of the following is an assumption on which
the legislator’s argument depends?
(A) The budget of the job-creation program has
typically increased every year.
(B) The unemployment rate would not have
risen even more than it has if the job-
creation program had not been in existence.
(C) The unemployment rate is higher now than
at any time before the inception of the
job-creation program.
(D) If the job-creation program had been run
more efficiently, it could have better
served its purpose.
(E) Other government programs are no more
effective in reducing unemployment than is
the job-creation program.
56
12. Which of the following most logically
completes the argument?
Each year a consumer agency ranks all domestic
airlines for on-time performance during the previous
year, using as its sole criterion the percentage of
each airline’s flights that left no more than fifteen
minutes late. The agency does not count delays due
to mechanical reasons, but the fact that the
percentage of delayed flights hat were delayed for
mechanical reasons was approximately the same for
all domestic airlines last year means that ----- .
(A) including delays for mechanical reasons in
calculating the airline rankings for on-
time performance would have had little, if
any, effect on last year’s rankings
(B) airlines would work harder to reduce
delays if delays for mechanical reasons
were included in the determination of on-
time performance rankings
(C) the agency’s rankings do not give
consumers an accurate idea of how a given
airline compares to other airlines with
respect to the percentage of flights delayed
last year
(D) those airlines with the best on-time
performance record last year also had the
greatest number of delays for mechanical
reasons
(E) on-time performance was approximately
the same for all domestic airlines last year
 14. Pollutants in the atmosphere can cause acid rain
13. No one can be licensed as an electrician in Parker (rain with high acidity levels). While acid rain in
County without first completing a certain course in itself cannot significantly affect the acidity of bodies
electrical safety procedures. All students majoring in of water into which it falls, it can greatly increase
computer technology at Parker County Technical the acidity of nearby lakes by increasing the amount
College must complete that course before graduating. of decaying matter on a forest floor. A recent
Therefore, any of the college’s graduates in increase in the acidity of the water in Forest Lake,
computer technology can be licensed as an therefore, surely indicates that the rain falling nearby
electrician in Parker County. has become more acid.

The answer to which of the following would be

Which of the following, if true, most seriously
most helpful in evaluating the argument?
weakens the argument?
(A) Is a college degree a requirement for being
(A) Even in areas without significant amounts
licensed as an electrician in Parker County?
of acid rain, most lakes in regions with
(B) Do all students majoring in computer
vegetation similar to the vegetation around
technology who complete the course in
Forest Lake have acidity levels higher than
electrical safety procedures at Parker
those of other lakes.
County Technical College eventually graduate?
(B) Recent air-quality tests in the region around
(C) Is completion of a course in electrical
Forest Lake have revealed a slight increase in
safety procedures the only way a person
the amount of pollutants in the air.
licensed as an electrician in Parker County
(C) Large-scale logging, which was recently
can have learned those procedures?
begun in the forest surrounding Forest
(D) Is a period of practical apprenticeship a
Lake, has increased the amount of decaying
requirement for becoming a licensed
matter on the forest floor.
electrician in Parker County but not for
(D) There is some disagreement among scientists
graduating from the college in computer
about exactly how pollutants in the atmosphere
technology?
cause acid rain.
(E) Do any of the students at Parker County
(E) Decaying matter exists on all forest floors
Technical College who are not majoring in
and is an important factor in maintaining
computer technology take the course in
the healthy growth of the forests.
electrical safety procedures?

57
15. Most of Earth’s surface is ocean. The ocean floor is
inaccessible for extensive research without
equipment of greater technological sophistication
than is currently available. It must therefore be true
that scientists know less about the ocean floor
environment than about almost any other
environment on Earth.
58
Which of the following, if true, provides the
most support for the conclusion?
(A) Many mountain ranges lie entirely beneath the
ocean surface, yet new underwater surveying
equipment has produced three-dimensional charts
of them that are as accurate as those available for
mountain ranges on land.
(B) Strong water currents circulate on the ocean
floor, but the general pattern of their
movement is not so well understood as is the
pattern of air currents that circulate over
land.
(C) In contrast to most land environments,
temperature conditions at the ocean floor are
generally stable and uniform, since sunlight
does not penetrate far below the ocean
surface.
(D) Very few people have seen detailed maps
of extended regions of the ocean floor,
even though such maps are available in
almost all large libraries.
(E) Animals living on the ocean floor must be
able to withstand water pressure that is far
greater than the atmospheric pressure with
which land animals live.
练习 9
（在阅读套题训练之前勿做。
）
1. At the Shadybrook dog kennel, all the adult animals
were given a new medication designed to reduce a
dog’s risk of contracting a certain common infection.
Several days after the medication was administered,
most of the puppies of these dogs had elevated
temperatures. Since raised body temperature is a side
effect of this medication, the kennel owner
hypothesized that the puppies’ elevated temperatures
resulted from the medication’s being passed to them
through their mothers’ milk.
Which of the following, if true, provides the most
support for the kennel owner’s hypothesis?
(A) Some puppies have been given the new
medication directly but have not suffered elevated
temperatures as a side effect.
(B) The new medication has been well received by
dog breeders as a safe and effective way of
preventing the spread of certain common canine
infections.
(C) None of the four puppies in the kennel who had
been bottle-fed with formula had elevated
temperatures.
(D) an elevated temperature is a side effect of a
number of medications for dogs other than the
new medication administered at the kennel.
(E) Elevated temperatures such as those suffered by
most of the puppies in the kennel rarely have
serious long-term effects on a puppy’s health.
59
2. Which of the following most logically completes
the argument?
Alivia’s government has approved funds for an
electricity-generation project based on the
construction of a pipeline that will carry water
from Lake Cylus, in the mountains, to the much
smaller Lake Tifele, in a nearby valley. The
amount of electricity generated will be
insufficient by itself to justify the project’s cost,
even if the price of imported oil-Alivia’s primary
source of electricity-increases sharply.
Nonetheless, the pipeline project is worth its cost,
because ——
(A) the price of oil, once subject to frequent sharp
increases, has fallen significantly and is now
fairly stable
(B) the project could restore Lake Tifele, which is
currently at risk of drying up and thus of being
lost as a source of recreation income for Alivia
(C) the government of Alivia is currently on excellent
terms with the governments of most of the
countries from which it purchases oil
(D) it would cost less to generate electricity by
moving water from Lake Cylus to lake Tifele
than to do so by moving water from Lake Cylus
to another valley lake
(E) Alivian officials do not expect that the amount of
electricity used in Alivia will increase
substantially within the next ten years
3. Amusement rides at permanent fairgrounds are
dismantled once a year for safety inspections by
independent consultants. Traveling fairs, which
relocate each month, can slip past the net of safety
inspections and escape independent inspection for
several years. Therefore, the rides at traveling fairs
are less safe than the rides at permanent fairs.
Which of the following, if true about traveling fairs,
most seriously weakens the argument?
(A) Before each relocation, the operators dismantle
their rides, observing and repairing potential
sources of danger, such as worn ball bearings.
(B) their managers have less capital to spend on the
safety and upkeep of the rides than do managers
of permanent fairs.
(C) Since they can travel to new customers, they
rely less on keeping up a good reputation for
safety.
(D) While they are traveling, the fairs do not receive
notices of equipment recalls sent out by the
manufacturers of their rides.
(E) The operators of the rides often do not pay
careful attention to the instructions for operating
their rides.
60
4. When cut, the synthetic material fiberglass, like
asbestos, releases microscopic fibers into the air. It is
known that people who inhale asbestos, fibers suffer
impairment of lung functions. A study of 300 factory
workers who regularly cut fiberglass showed that their
lung capacity is, on average, only 90 percent of that of a
comparable group of people who do not cut fiberglass.
The statements above, if true, most strongly support
which of the following hypotheses?
(A) People who work with fiberglass are likely also
to work with asbestos.
(B) Fiberglass fibers impair lung function in people
who inhale them.
(C) Fiberglass releases as many fibers into the air
when cut as does asbestos.
(D) Coarse fibers do not impair lung function in
people who inhale them.
(E) If uncut, fiberglass poses no health risk to
people who work with it.
 6.Like most other coastal towns in Norway, the town of
5. Politician: Pundits claim that by voting for candidates
who promise to cut taxes, people show that they
want the government to provide fewer services than
it has been providing. By that reasoning, however,
people who drink too much alcohol at a party in the
evening want a headache the next morning.
Which of the following could replace the statement
about people who drink too much without
undermining the force of the politician's argument?
Which of the following most accurately describes the
(A) People who spend more money than they can
afford want the things they spend that money
on.
(B) People who seek different jobs than they
currently have do not want to work at all.
(C) People who buy new cars want to own cars that
are under manufacturer's warranty.
(D) People who decide to stay in bed a few extra
minutes on a workday morning want to have to
rush to arrive at work on time.
(E) People who buy lottery tickets want the
economic freedom that winning the lottery
would bring.
61
Stavanger was quiet and peaceful until the early
1960's, when it became Norway's center for offshore
oil exploration. Between then and now, violent
crime and vandalism in Stavanger have greatly
increased. Stavanager's social problems probably
resulted from the oil boom, since violent crime and
vandalism have remained low in coastal towns in
Norway that have had no oil boom.
method of reasoning employed in the argument?
(A) Arguing that a circumstance is not a
precondition for a phenomenon on the grounds
that the phenomenon sometimes occurs where
the circumstance is not present
(B) Arguing that a circumstance is a cause of a
phenomenon on the grounds that the
phenomenon has not occurred where the
circumstance is not present
(C) Arguing that a particular thing cannot have
caused a phenomenon because that thing was
not present before the phenomenon occurred
(D) Attempting to establish a claim by arguing that
the denial of the claim is inconsistent with the
observed facts
(E) Attempting to establish that certain
circumstances that would have had to occur for
a particular explanation to be correct could not
have occurred
7. Excavations at a Mayan site have uncovered jewelry
workshops located some distance from the center of
the site on roads radiating outward from the center.
Since the nobility lived only in the area of the center,
archaeologists conclude that these workshops made
jewelry, not for the nobility, but for a middle class
that must have been prosperous enough to afford it.
The archaeologists' argument assumes which of the
following about the artisans who worked in the
workshops'
(A) They were themselves prosperous members of a
middle class.
(B) They lived near their workshops.
(C) Their products were not made from the same
materials as was jewelry for the nobility.
(D) They worked full-time at making jewelry and
did not engage in farming
(E) They did not take the jewelry they had made in
the workshops to clients who were members of
the nobility.
62
8. Over the last 40 years there has been a great increase
not only in the number of agricultural pesticides in
use but also in the care and sophistication with
which they are used by farmers. Nevertheless, the
proportion of agricultural crops lost to certain pests
worldwide has increased over the same period, even
when the pests concerned have not developed
resistance to existing pesticides.
Which of the following, if true. best explains how
improvements in pesticide use have been
accompanied by greater losses to certain pests?
(A) Some dangerous but relatively ineffective
pesticides common 40 years ago are no longer
in widespread use.
(B) As pesticides have become increasingly pest-
specific, controlling certain pests with pesticides
has turned out to cost more in many cases than
the value of crop losses caused by those pests.
(C) Because today's pesticides typically have more
specific application conditions than did
pesticides in use 40 years ago, today's farmers
observe their fields more closely than did
farmers 40 years ago.
(D) Certain pest-control methods that some farmers
use today do not involve the use of chemical
pesticides but are just as effective in eliminating
insect pests as those that do.
(E) Forty years ago, much less was known about the
effects of pesticides on humans and other
mammalian species than is now known.
9.Authorities in California required drivers to use their
headlights on a certain road during the daytime as
well as at night and found that annual accident rates
on the road fell 15 percent from the previous level.
They concluded that applying the daytime rule
statewide would lead to a similar reduction in
accidents.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the
authorities' argument?
(A) Because an alternate route became available, the
volume of traffic on the test road decreased
during the test period.
(B) Drivers were informed of the requirement to use
their headlights on the test road by means of a
series of three conspicuous signs in each direction
of travel.
(C) Under certain conditions, among them fog and
heavy rain, most drivers in California already
use their headlights during the daytime.
(D) Full-scale application of the daytime rule would
cause headlight bulbs to burn out sooner than
they currently do and thus to require more
frequent replacement.
(E) The test road was selected to include a great
variety of the sorts of road conditions that
drivers in California are likely to encounter.
63
10. Which of the following, if true, most logically
completes the passage?
Every fusion reaction releases neutrinos. To test a
hypothesis about the frequency of fusion reactions in the
Sun, physicists calculated the number of neutrinos the
Sun would produce annually if the hypothesis were
correct. From this they estimated how many neutrinos
should pass through a particular location on Earth. The
fact that far fewer neutrinos were counted than were
predicted to pass through the location would seem to
prove that the hypothesis is wrong, except that------.
(A) the physicists, using a different method for
estimating how many neutrinos should reach the
location, confirmed their original estimate
(B) there are several competing hypotheses about
the frequency of solar fusion reactions
(C) there is not enough energy in the Sun to destroy
a neutrino once it is released
(D) the method used to count neutrinos detects no
more than approximately ten percent of the
neutrinos that pass through
(E) neutrinos released in the fusion reactions of
other stars also reach the Earth
11.An economist concluded that Kregg Company
deliberately discriminated against people with a
history of union affiliation in hiring workers for its
new plant. The economist's evidence is that, of the
1,500 people hired to work at the new plant, only
100 had ever belonged to a labor union, whereas in
Kregg Company's older plants, a much higher
proportion of workers have a history of union
affiliation.
Which of the following is an assumption on which
the economist's argument depends?
(A) None of the people with a history of union
affiliation who were hired to work at the new
plant were union organizers.
(B) Applicants for jobs at the new plant were not
asked by Kregg's recruiters whether they had
ever belonged to a labor union.
(C) In the plants of some of Kregg's competitors, the
workforce consists predominantly of union
members.
(D) The company believes that the cost of running
the new plant will be lower if labor unions are
not represented in the workforce.
(E) The pool of potential candidates for jobs at the
new plant included some people, in addition to
those Kregg hired, with a history of union
affiliation.
64
12. Hastings’ contracture is a disorder of the connective
tissue in one or both hands, most commonly causing
loss of mobility. A survey of thousands of
medical-insurance claims found that over 30 percent
of people who had one hand operated on for
Hastings' contracture underwent surgery a second
time for this disorder within three years. Clearly,
therefore, a single surgical treatment of Hastings'
contracture is often ineffective at providing
long-term correction of the disorder.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens
the argument?
(A) The medical-insurance claims did not specie
whether the surgery was on the patient's right or
left hand.
(B) The surgical techniques used to treat Hastings'
contracture are identical to those used
successfully to treat certain work-related
injuries to the hand.
(C) A separate survey found that 90 percent of
patients operated on for Hastings' contracture
report increased hand mobility within one
month after the surgery.
(D) All of the patients in the survey were required
by their insurance companies to seek a second
opinion from a qualified surgeon before
undergoing the operation.
(E) Many people who have Hastings' contracture
choose to tolerate its effects rather than undergo
the risks of surgery.
 14.A society can achieve a fair distribution of resources
13.The most widely used therapy for a certain type of
ulcer completely heals such ulcers in 44 percent of
patients within six months. In a six-month trial of a
new therapy for this type of ulcer. 80 percent of
ulcers treated achieved significant healing and 61
percent were completely heated. Since the trial
treated only ulcers of this type that were worse than
average, the new therapy clearly promotes healing
more effectively than the most widely used therapy.
The answer to which of the following would be
most useful in evaluating the argument given?
(A) What differences are there, if any, in the ways
that the two therapies are administered?
(B) Is there any significant difference between the
costs associated with the two therapies?
(C) What percentage of people with ulcers of this
type who were treated with the most widely
used therapy for six months experienced
significant healing?
(D) How quickly do ulcers of this type, if left
untreated, become significantly worse.
(E) What percentage of patients involved in the
six-month trial of the new therapy were
disappointed at the rate of healing were
experiencing?
65
only under conditions of economic growth. There
can be no economic growth unless the society
guarantees equality of economic opportunity to all
of its citizens. Equality of economic opportunity
cannot be guaranteed unless a society's government
actively works to bring it about.
If the statements given are true, it can be properly
concluded from them that
(A) no government can achieve a fair distribution of
resources under conditions of economic growth
(B) all societies that guarantee equality of economic
opportunity to all of their members are societies
that distribute resources fairly
(C) a society can achieve a fair distribution of
resources only if its government actively works
to bring about equality of economic opportunity
(D) there ran be no economic growth in a society
unless that society guarantees a fair distribution
of resources
(E) some societies that experience economic growth
fail to guarantee equality of opportunity to all of
their citizens
15.High Towers, a company that occupies several office
buildings, is considering installing new
energy-efficient lightbulbs in its buildings. The new
bulbs require less than half the electricity consumed
by the conventional bulbs currently used to produce
the same amount of light. The new bulbs also last
considerably longer. It follows that by replacing old
bulbs as they bum out with the new kind of bulb,
High Towers would significantly reduce its overall
lighting costs.
66
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the
argument given?
(A) If the new bulbs are widely adopted, as seems
likely, they will be produced in large enough
quantities to be offered at prices comparable to
those of conventional bulbs.
(B) The utility that supplies High Towers with
electricity offers discount rates to its largest
customers.
(C) High Towers has recently signed a contract to
occupy an additional small office building.
(D) High Towers has begun a campaign to
encourage its employees to turn off lights
whenever they leave a room.
(E) The company that manufactures the new bulbs
has been granted a patent on the innovative
technology used in the bulbs and thus has
exclusive rights to manufacture them.
练习 10
（在阅读套题训练之前勿做。
）
1. The painter Peter Brandon never dated his works, and
their chronology is only now beginning to take shape
in the critical literature. A recent dating of a Brandon
self-portrait to 1930 is surely wrong. Brandon was 63
years old in 1930, yet the painting shows a young,
dark-haired man-obviously Brandon, but clearly not a
man of 63.
Which of the following, if justifiably assumed, allows
the conclusion to be properly drawn?
(A) There is no securely dated self-portrait of
Brandon that he painted when he was
significantly younger than 63.
(B) In refraining from dating his works, Brandon
intended to steer critical discussion of them away
from considerations of chronology.
(C) Until recently, there was very little critical
literature on the works of Brandon.
(D) Brandon at age 63 would not have portrayed
himself in a painting as he had looked when he
was a young man.
(E) Brandon painted several self-portraits that showed
him as a man past the age of 60.
67
2. Dance critic from Europe: The improved quality of
ballet in the United States is the result of more
Europeans' teaching ballet in the United States than
ever before. I know the proportion of teachers who
were born and trained in Europe has gone up among
ballet teachers in the United States, because last year,
on my trip to New York, more of the ballet teachers I
met were from Europe-born and trained there -than
ever before.
Which of the following identifies a questionable
assumption made by the dance critic's reasoning?
(A) The argument overlooks the possibility that some
ballet teachers in the United States could have
been born in Europe but trained in the United
States.
(B) The argument assumes that the ballet teachers
whom the critic met last year on the critic's trip to
New York were a generally typical group of such
teachers.
(C) The argument assumes that the teaching of ballet
in the United States is superior to the teaching of
ballet in Europe
(D) Other possible reasons for the improved mental
attitudes of United States dancers are not
examined.
(E) The argument assumes that dancers born and
trained in Europe are typically more talented than
dancers born and trained in the United States.
3.Mayor Four years ago when we reorganized the city
police department in order to save money, critics
claimed that the reorganization would make the
police less responsive to citizens and would thus lead
to more crime. The police have compiled theft
statistics from the years following the reorganization
that show that the critics were wrong. There was an
overall decrease in reports of thefts of all kinds,
including small thefts.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously
challenges the mayor's argument?
(A) When city police are perceived as unresponsive,
victims of theft are less likely to report thefts to
the police.
(B) The mayor's critics generally agree that police
statistics concerning crime reports provide the
most reliable available data on crime rates.
(C) In other cities where police departments have
been similarly reorganized, the numbers of
reported thefts have generally risen following
reorganization.
(D) The mayor's reorganization of the police
department failed to save as much money as it
was intended to save.
(E) During the four years immediately preceding the
reorganization, reports of all types of theft had
been rising steadily in comparison to reports of
other crimes.
68
4. It takes a particular talent to be a successful business
manager. Business courses can help people to solve
management problems, but such courses can do so
only for those people with managerial talent. Such
people should take business courses to acquire ideas
that they can subsequently use to good advantage if
management problems happen to arise.
If the statements above are true, which of the following
must also be true on the basis of them?
(A) People who are helped by business courses in
solving management problems also have
managerial talent.
(B) People who are already skilled at solving
management problems are unlikely to benefit
from business courses.
(C) Most ideas that are used successfully in solving
management problems are those acquired in
business courses.
(D) People who lack managerial talent are more
likely to take business courses than are people
who have managerial talent.
(E) Those people who have never taken business
courses are unable to solve management
problems when such problems arise.
 6. That sales can be increased by the presence of
5. When a driver is suspected of having had too much to
drink, testing the driver's ability to walk a straight
line gives a more reliable indication of fitness to
drive than does testing the driver's blood-alcohol
level.
Which of the following, if true, best supports the claim
made in the statement above?
(A) Not all observers will agree whether or not an
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the
individual has succeeded in walking a straight
argument?
line.
(B) Because of genetic differences and variations in
acquired tolerance to alcohol, some individuals
suffer more serious motor impairment from a
given high blood-alcohol level than do others.
(C) Tests designed to measure blood-alcohol levels
are accurate, inexpensive, and easy to
administer.
(D) More than half the drivers involved in fatal
accidents have blood-alcohol levels that exceed
the legal limit, whereas in less-serious accidents
the proportion of legally intoxicated drivers is
lower.
(E) Some individuals with high blood-alcohol levels
are capable of walking a straight line but are not
capable of driving safely.
69
sunlight within a store has been shown by the
experience of the only Savefast department store
with a large skylight. The skylight allows sunlight
into half of the store, reducing the need for artificial
light. The rest of the store uses only artificial light.
Since the store opened two years ago, the
departments on the sunlit side have had substantially
higher sales than the other departments.
(A) On particularly cloudy days, more artificial light
is used to illuminate the part of the store under
the skylight.
(B) When the store is open at night, the departments
in the part of the store under the skylight have
sales that are no higher than those of other
departments.
(C) Many customers purchase items from
departments in both parts of the store on a single
shopping trip.
(D) Besides the skylight, there are several
significant architectural differences between the
two parts of the store.
(E) The departments in the part of the store under
the skylight are the departments that generally
have the highest sales in other stores in the
Savefast chain.
7. To protect beachfront buildings from ocean storms,
ocean resorts have built massive seawalls between
beaches and the buildings. Not only do the seawalls
block off some buildings' ocean view, but the
beaches themselves become ever narrower, because
sand can no longer creep inland as storms erode it at
the water's edge.
If the information is correct, which of the following
conclusions is most strongly supported on the basis
of it?
(A) Since the ferocity of ocean storms is increasing,
increasingly high seawalls must be built
between beaches and beachfront property.
(B) Even when beaches are heavily used by people,
they are necessary to the survival of the many
wild species that use them.
(C) Seawalls constructed to protect beachfront
buildings will not themselves eventually be
damaged by storms and will not require, if they
are to protect the buildings, expensive repair or
replacement.
(D) The conservation of beaches for future
generations should be the overriding goal of
shore management at ocean coasts.
(E) Trying to protect beachfront buildings by
constructing seawalls is counterproductive in
the long run for an oceanfront community
wishing to maintain itself as a beach resort.
70
8. A study found that 70 percent of children surveyed in
1970 had at one time had cavities, whereas only 50
percent of those surveyed in 1985 had ever had
cavities. The researchers concluded that the level of
dental disease in children had declined between
1970 and 1985.
Which of the following, if true, would most
seriously undermine the researchers' conclusion
presented above?
(A) Cavities are the most common kind of dental
disease to which children are subject.
(B) The children surveyed came from a broad
variety of income backgrounds.
(C) The children surveyed were selected from
among students of teachers cooperating with the
researchers.
(D) The accuracy of cavity detection techniques has
improved dramatically since 1970.
(E) The children surveyed in 1985 were younger on
average than those surveyed in 1970.
9. David: Since attempting to preserve every species that
Which of the following is the main point of Karen's
is currently endangered is prohibitively expensive,
the endangered species whose value to humanity is
the greatest should be accorded the highest priority
for preservation.
Karen: Such a policy would he unsound because it
is impossible to predict the future value of a species,
nor is it always possible to assess the present value
of species whose contributions to humanity, though
significant, are indirect.
71
reply to David?
(A) Although it would be desirable to preserve all
endangered species, doing so is not
economically feasible.
(B) Even if the value to humanity of a given species
is known, that value should not be a factor in
any decision on whether to expend effort to
preserve that species.
(C) Species whose contributions to humanity are
direct should have a higher priority for
preservation efforts than species whose
contributions to humanity are only indirect.
(D)Since the methods for deciding which species
have the most value to humanity are imperfect,
informed decisions cannot be made on the basis
of the assessment of such value.
(E) The preservation of endangered species whose
value to humanity can be reliably predicted is
more important than the preservation of species
whose value for humanity is unpredictable.
10. Roger: Reading a lot as a child causes
nearsightedness-difficulty seeing things at a
distance.
Louise: I disagree. Any correlation between
near-sightedness and reading results from the fact
that children who have trouble seeing things at a
distance are likeliest to prefer those activities, such
as reading, that involve looking at things close up.
Louise disputes Roger's claim by
(A) demonstrating that an absurd conclusion would
follow if Roger's claim were accepted
(B) arguing that what Roger claims to be a cause of a
given phenomenon is actually its effect
(C) using an analogy to expose a flaw in Roger's
reasoning
(D) pointing out that Roger's claim is
self-contradictory
(E) attempting to demonstrate that Roger uses the
term“nearsightedness” in an ambiguous way
72
11. Years ago, consumers in Frieland began paying an
energy tax in the form of two Frieland pennies for
each unit of energy consumed that came from
nonrenewable sources. Following the introduction of
this energy tax, there was a steady reduction in the
total yearly consumption of energy from
nonrenewable sources.
If the statements in the passage are true, then which of
the following must on the basis of them be true?
(A) There was a steady decline in the yearly revenues
generated by the energy tax in Frieland.
(B) There was a steady decline in the total amount of
energy consumed each year in Frieland.
(C)There was a steady increase in the use of
renewable energy sources in Frieland
(D) The revenues generated by the energy tax were
used to promote the use of energy from
renewable sources.
(E) The use of renewable energy sources in Frieland
greatly increased relative to the use of
nonrenewable energy sources.
12. Despite a dramatic increase in the number of people
Which of the following, if true during the last three
riding bicycles for recreation in Parkville. a recent
report by the Parkville Department of Transportation
shows that the number of accidents involving
bicycles has decreased for the third consecutive
year.
73
years, best reconciles the apparent discrepancy in
the facts above?
(A) The Parkville Department of Recreation
confiscated abandoned bicycles and sold them at
auction to any interested Parkville residents.
(B) Increased automobile and bus traffic in Parkville
has been the leading cause of the most recent
increase in automobile accidents.
(C) Because of the local increase in the number of
people bicycling for recreation. many out -of
-town bicyclists ride in the Parkville area.
(D) The Parkville Police Department enforced
traffic rules for bicycle riders much more
vigorously and began requiring recreational
riders to pass a bicycle safety course.
(E) The Parkville Department of Transportation
canceled a program that required all bicycles to
be inspected and registered each year.
13. Do strong electric currents, by means of the
electromagnetic fields that accompany them, cause
cancer in people who live and work nearby?
Telephone line workers. who work near such
currents every day, can provide a test case. They
show elevated levels of brain cancer, therefore, the
hypothesis of electromagnetic causation is
supported.
Which of the following if true, most seriously weakens
the argument?
(A) Burying power lines and other measures to
protect the public from such electromagnetic
fields would be prohibitively expensive.
(B) Telephone line workers are exposed to levels of
chemical solvents high enough to cause brain
cancer.
(C) High exposure to strong electromagnetic fields
is correlated with a slightly higher-than-normal
incidence of childhood leukemia, which is a
form of cancer.
(D) Public health officials who found that a group of
different illnesses in people living near a power
substation could not reliably be attributed to its
electromagnetic field were accused of covering
up the facts.
(E) Telephone line workers, like most people. have
electrical appliances at home, and most
electrical appliances, when turned on, are
surrounded by and electromagnetic field of
some measurable level.
14. Neither the Sami nor the Kephrian delegations
attended the international conference. Beforehand. the
delegations of Daqua and Kephria. allies whose
governments had grievances against Tessia. officially
announced that one or both of the two would stay away
if the Tessian delegation attended the conference. In
response, the Sami delegation officially announced that
it would definitely attend if both the Daquan and
Kephrian delegations stayed away.
If the statements given are all true and all the
delegations adhered to their official announcements.
it must also be true that the
(A) Daquan delegation attended the conference
(B) Daquan delegation did not attend the conference
(C) Sami government had no grievance against
Tessia
(D) Tessian delegation did not attend the conference
(E) Tessian delegation made no official
announcement regarding its attendance at the
conference

74
15. On turning 65 years old, everyone living in the town
Which of the following is an assumption on which the
of Malton becomes eligible to receive a card that
guarantees discounts on most goods and services
sold in the town. Census records for 1990 show that
2, 450 inhabitants of Malton turned 64 in that year.
Yet . in 1991 over 3,000 people applied for and
properly received discount cards. So clearly some of
Malton's population growth between 1990 and 1992
must be attributable to migration into the city by
people in their mid -60's
75
argument depends?
(A) The town of Malton has no complete census
records for 1991.
(B) The overall size of the population of Malton
grew by over 500 during 1990.
(C) Fewer people applied for and received discount
cards in 1991 than did so in 1992.
(D) Among the people 65 years old or older who
moved into Malton in 1991. there was no one
who did not apply for a discount card .
(E) In general. people who applied for and received
discount cards in 1991 first became eligible to
do so in that year
答案

练习 1. EADED ECCBB DAA

练习 2. DEEED ADBAE CE
练习 3. BEDAE ECEEC BD
练习 4. ACBBE EAAEC DACB
练习 5. CBDDB EEBCA DB

练习 6. BCEED BDBEA D
练习 7. AACAE ADBBD BDC
练习 8. AEBDB AEDCD BADCB

练习 9. EDBBD BEBAE DDCCA

练习 10.DBAAB BEEDB ADBED

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